Batgirl of the Future: The Enemy Inside
by Watership's Nightwish Rat
Summary: Following a mission that turns tragic, Coba Brooklyn struggles with survivor's guilt. When old friends of Bruce Wayne visit the manor, she and Terry McGinnis find themselves helping their mentor's allies against a powerful foe—and realize that they're not the only ones dealing with loss... Rated T for violence later on.
1. Prologue

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to a new installment of my fanfic series _Batgirl of the Future_! Been a while since I've written one, huh?**

 **This time, I'm going to be doing a crossover between _Batman Beyond_ and _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_. With TMNT, the 'verse will be a mix between the 2003, 2012 and IDW Batman/TMNT crossover series, but may be heavier on the 2003 side.**

 **At this point, the title does not refer to an enemy within a group. Rather, it alludes to an enemy within oneself, and is a nod to a song that helped inspire this story: "The Enemy Inside" by Dream Theater. If you haven't heard the song, I highly recommend that you do so, as it's a magnificent work and has to do with an underlying theme of this story.**

 ** _What's the underlying theme, WNR?_**

 **Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.**

 **Anyway, this story also has a specific two-part episode from _Batman Beyond_ wrapped in it: "The Curse of the Kobra." However, instead of taking place during the episode, it takes place a week after the end of the episode, with the episode's events being brought up in flash backs.**

 **With that said, please read and leave a review!**

* * *

The wind blew gently in the ice-capped Japanese Alps as a muscular green form stood on one of the peaks. In spite of his three-toed feet being bare, he was not fazed by the cold. His brown trench coat, brown fedora and the ends of his dark blue mask rippled as the breeze picked up, blowing snow three yards in front of him, obscuring his vision. Within a few moments, the snow cleared up, revealing two more figures. Unlike the masked figure, their forms were slightly transparent, and did not move with the wind.

The first figure bowed respectfully to the two newcomers. " _Kon'nichiwa, masutā_ Yoshi, Splinter," he greeted. It had been over a month since he was able to reach them, as traveling had made him unable to reach them.

The other two, one a human man and one a gray man-sized rat, bowed as well. "Greetings, my son," the rat, Splinter, replied.

As the three stood straight again, the human looked at Splinter's "son." "We bring grave news, Leonardo-san," Hamato Yoshi said grimly. "Your friend, Kairi Tanaga—"

Before he could go on, another gust of snowy wind spun around them. Beside the rat appeared an old woman in black garb. Leonardo was surprised to see her after so many years. "Tanaga-chan?" he gasped. Looking closer, he realized her body was transparent like his adoptive father and Yoshi. "Oh, no..." A look of sadness plastered his face. He bowed respectfully to the fallen warrior, closing his eyes.

The woman bowed grimly. "Do not grieve for me, Leonardo. My students already do. One week of time has done little to help."

Leonardo opened his eyes once more, and was shocked by what he saw. Gone were his fedora and trench coat. Instead, a martial arts master's robe covered him, the top of it awkwardly peaking over his shell. He realized what Kairi was asking of him. "I'm honored, Kairi," he said as he straightened, his voice catching. "But I can't take over your dojo, let alone teach all of your students. You know what happened last time I taught."

"You fear the past will repeat itself, yet you have no proof that it will. Much like one of my students." Tanaga lifted out of her bow. "But, I wasn't asking you to teach all of my students or take over my dojo."

"Then, why the robe?"

"I want you to complete the training of two of my students, both allies of a mutual friend in Gotham."

The mutant turtle raised an eye ridge. "Two children allied with Bruce Wayne? I thought he stopped taking children in after what happened to his son."

Kairi paused. "You haven't watched the news for the past three years?"

Leonardo shook his head. "Not since what happened." _It hurts to see what I had done, what my own ambitions for my students led to,_ he thought grimly.

She looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "You can catch up with Bruce when you get there," she told him.

"I didn't say I was going."

"You didn't have to. I saw it in your eyes."

Splinter looked at the turtle. "I'm glad you've considered Tanaga-chan's words, my son."

"I'm still considering them, Father," Leonardo stated. "I'll have to speak with Bruce and Kairi's students before coming to a final decision." He looked at Kairi. "Can you at least tell me what to expect of them?"

He swore he saw amusement glimmer in Kairi's eyes. "You'll have to see for yourself, Leonardo-san."

Before he could question further, another flurry whipped by, taking the spirits of Splinter, Hamato Yoshi and Kairi with it. He closed his eyes, then blinked them open, waking from his meditation to see he was back in the lair located in the sewers of New York City, where he and his brothers had lived when they were children. Only one of his brothers, Michelangelo, still lived there. Leonardo himself was visiting from Japan after living alone there for years. In a few hours, their brothers Raphael and Donatello were due to arrive.

 _But now I have to leave before they get here,_ he thought with a sigh. Leonardo stood up before exiting the room. He found Michelangelo in the living room, sitting on a couch while reading a new comic book about a speedster named Bolt. "Mike?"

The turtle in question looked up and grinned. "Hey, bro. What's up?"

Leonardo hesitated. _I didn't realize I missed him that much. Do I really have to leave?_ He closed his eyes. _Yes, I do. I owe that much to Kairi._ "I have to leave for Gotham."

Mike's smile evaporated into a look of shock. "What?! But you just got here, Leo!"

"I know," the blue-masked turtle said grimly. "But I just had a vision... of Kairi. She's gone."

The younger turtle blinked his light blue eyes sadly at the news. "And, you want to pay respects to her?"

"Yes, and... see to matters she left unsolved, as well as visit Bruce."

"Shouldn't we wait for Don and Raph, then? They'll want to go. Kairi was their friend, too. And Raph'll be glad to see Bruce again after so long."

"I know," Leo said again. A thought occurred to him. "Why don't you wait for them, and come after they arrive? That would give me time to discuss things with Bruce."

"What kind of things?" Mike asked curiously with a raised eye ridge.

The older turtle hesitated. _I can't tell him about teaching again. At least not yet._ "I'll tell you later," he finally answered.

The orange-masked mutant sighed. "Fine, I'll let you be mysterious for a while. I know Raph won't let you be."

"Thanks, I think. See you in a while." Leo exited the lair without waiting for his brother to reply. Upon entering the garage, he selected a motorcycle. _Better use this before Raph won't let me use it, either,_ he thought. He put on old riding gear before sitting upon the bike, then opened the garage door to reveal the road he would travel to Gotham.

* * *

 ** _Oh, WNR, you're so cruel..._**

 **How?**

 ** _You've given the reader even more questions to ponder!_**

 **So? What's the point in reading if you're not allowed to let your imagination go wild?**

 ** _... True..._**

 **Okay, so here are some questions you may be wondering that will be answered later: How do the Turtles know Kairi? What happened that caused Leo to stop teaching and go into exile? Which student of hers constantly fears that the future will repeat? (Hint: the character has a major role in this story and all of the previous stories in this series.)**

 **Questions I can answer now: What do the turtles look like? Who's Bolt?**  
 **More like they did in the 2003 series, but with the eyes of their 2012 selves. Bolt is a character made by my dear friend TRON0602 as an experiment CADMUS did with the DNA of Bart Allen (Impulse) and Coba Brooklyn (Batgirl Beyond). He asked that I mention Bolt somehow in a story, so for now I'm going with fictional superhero.**

 **Japanese words and translations:**

 **Kon'nichiwa: Hello, good day**

 **Masutā: Masters**

 **If you have any questions I haven't answered, please ask! I don't bite. :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Strange Meetings

**I realized shortly after posting the prologue that I had forgotten to add the list of the other stories in this series! For readers new to this series, you may read the rest at your leisure, but don't panic: I usually fill in blanks as I write new stories in case of newcomers.**

 **1\. Rebirth**

 **2\. Running Out of Inque**

 **3\. Remember (one-shot)**

 **4\. Technical Difficulties (one-shot)**

 **5\. Eyewitness of the Past**

 **6\. Last Resort**

 **7\. Big Time**

 **8\. The Call**

 **9\. Truth Be Told (one-shot)**

 **10\. In Waves (which doesn't follow any episodes)**

 **11\. What Lies Within (Teen Titans crossover)**

 **12\. Betrayal (Part 2 of Big Time)**

 **13\. The Enemy Inside (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover)**

 **For those who are familiar with the series, check out the poll on my profile page and vote for your favorite story of the series! If there's a tie, don't worry: I made it multiple choice instead of having to choose only one. ;)**

 **Anyway, onward with the story! (And if you have any questions, feel free to post it in a review or send me a PM with it: I don't bite. )**

* * *

Coba stood in the living room of Wayne Manor, watching the sun set from the large windows. She subconsciously leaned against the crutch just under her arm for support as her crippled right foot started to ache from standing so long, then winced as the pressure hurt her cracked ribs. Instead of sitting down to ease her pain, she remained standing, welcoming the agony. _I don't deserve to be comfortable,_ she thought. _Not after failing Kairi. I should've been better, even before meeting her. If I'd been able to stop Kobra before, surely it would have spared her life?_

~!~

 _Only the screeching of bats filled the Batcave as Terry McGinnis and Coba Brooklyn sat on a table while Bruce Wayne tended to their injuries. The siblings each looked down solemnly. In spite of their efforts to stop members of a terrorist group called Kobra from stealing a thermal bomb, both Batman and Batgirl had been beaten back by the thieves, one of which proving to be tougher than the duo had anticipated._

 _Terry looked down. "I know, I know, we messed up big time. Ow!" He flinched as Bruce pressed an ice pack against Terry's bruised cheek._

 _"This will keep the swelling down," the old man said, reaching back to the table to give one to Coba._

 _McGinnis stood up from the table after holding the pack to his face for a short moment. "You're thinking, 'How could they have let Kobra get away with a thermal bomb that could destroy half of the city?'" He looked down. "Because we're hopeless losers, that's why."_

 _Coba accepted the ice pack from Bruce and held it over her swollen eye solemnly. "There were two of us fighting them. How could we have messed up? It couldn't have been just their numbers; we've beaten more than that before, and I'm not counting the alien starfish. Either we're getting careless, or these guys were tougher than usual, namely the driver. I doubt it was my first suggestion."_

 _Bruce turned to look at the two teens. "Actually, I think you should both meet an old friend of mine." He handed a piece of note paper to Terry. "Go to this address. Ask for Kairi Tanaga."_

 _Brooklyn stood on the table to be able to read the address over her half-brother's shoulder. She sat back down carefully when she noticed her biological father was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry I'm so short," she apologized, half-smartly yet half-sincerely._ Seriously, why'd I have to be a short-stop when the rest of my family is tall?

 _The first Batman pat her shoulder. "It's alright. Having to stand on tables and chairs to see won't be an issue with Kairi."_

 _"Who_ is _Kairi?" Terry inquired. "How do you know her? And how can she help us?"_

 _"Patience," Bruce stated. "You'll find out the first and third on your own, and the second is a story for another time. I recommend that you both get some rest, and keep your bruises from getting too swollen."_

 _"Because heaven forbid this Kairi realizes that we're Bats," Terry said sarcastically._

 _"Something tells me she already knows," Coba replied._

 _Bruce nodded. "She likely does. I trust she'll keep the secret. She hasn't tried to reveal mine."_

 _"Fair enough," Coba shrugged._

 _The following morning, Terry and Coba ventured downtown to find Kairi. The girl's brother noted that she looked haunted when he stopped by to pick her up earlier, which was not far from the truth. In spite of her hopeful wishing, Coba's slumber had been filled with nightmares involving the thermal bomb's detonation, along with bodies of people she knew and people she did not recognize. It had been the Great Dane mix Ace and the giant pouched rat Ed who woke her up and calmed her down enough to think more clearly, though the dreams still lingered in her mind._

If that bomb goes off, it's my fault, _she thought._ Terry may have also failed to stop the theft, but I failed to protect him.

 _Terry looked at her, seemingly reading her thoughts. "It's not your fault, Co," he said. "We both tried our best, but it... wasn't enough."_

 _Coba looked down. "But what if the bomb goes off?"_

 _"All we can do is hope that it doesn't until after we find Kobra. You know Bruce won't stop until he finds their hiding spot."_

 _"I guess you're right," she sighed._

 _He ruffled her hair. It'll be alright, sis._

 _After a while, they came to a stop at the address on the note. Both were confused when they discovered a fish market was there with an old Japanese woman just a few inches taller than Coba behind the counter. "Fresh fishy!" she proclaimed in her Japanese accent. "Best fish in Gotham. Get your fresh fishy!"_

 _The siblings approached the shop._ Well, if Bruce said to come here, we'd better see what's going on, _Coba thought. "Excuse us," she said politely. "We're looking for Kairi Tanaga."_

 _The saleswoman chopped off the head of a fish. "You want halibut?" she asked, holding the fish's body to the teens. "Caught fresh yesterday."_

 _Though Coba kept a calm composure, Terry was struggling to hide his disgust at the fish. "Look, we don't want any fish," he said impatiently. "Bruce Wayne sent us."_

 _"Ah." The woman's expression became serous. She wiped her hands on her apron and beckoned for Terry and Coba to follow. "What you want in back. One at a time."_

 _Terry looked at Coba. "You want to go first?"_

 _Batgirl shook her head. "No, you can go if you want."_

 _"Girl first," the woman said. "Then boy."_

 _Coba swallowed hard, nervous from the woman's quick response. McGinnis was apprehensive as well, but he and Brooklyn both realized that their mentor would not have sent them as civilians if he thought something was wrong. The girl followed the stranger into the building. She was led into a room with wood flooring, and a wooden bridge arching over an indoor pond, lily pads and lotus flowers floating on the surface. "Wait here," the woman instructed before exiting._

 _Apprehension started to fill the small teen at being left alone in a strange place. She took a deep breath as she looked at the pond, remembering the times she had been left in strange places but came out unscathed._ Those are my favorite strange places. Yet, there's something off about this one...

 _She instinctively jumped to the side as slight padding on the floor reached her ears shortly before a small shriek did. The end of a bo staff was stabbed in the water as a young man landed where Coba had been standing. As he turned with intent to hit her, she kicked him backwards, then back flipped away when another individual moved to hit her. She used her forearms to block his staff, then ducked and swiped his feet out from under him. Coba grabbed his weapon as he fell and dropped it, jabbing it to her left behind her as the first assailant came at her with a vengeance, catching him in the gut. A third boy kicked her lower legs when she was still focusing on her first opponent, causing her to hit the ground hard and lose hold of the staff. Reclaiming his weapon, he tried to pin her down with his foot, but she rolled out of the way._

 _"Enough!"_

 _Brooklyn looked up to see the woman from the shop was standing near the doorway. The boy standing beside Coba bowed to the woman, as did the first two attackers. With a start, Coba realized that the woman was now wearing the same martial arts uniform the boys were. The woman approached her and helped her stand. "Bruce was right," she said. "You've got the moves, kid, but you lack confidence. I noticed this before and after your performance."_

 _"Performance?" Coba echoed in confusion. "I was defending myself and fighting back."_

 _"Exactly." She looked at the girl's right leg. "You know how to compensate for your weak foot, as well. It's clear that you've had training before, even though I was already told."_

 _"Yes, my grandfather taught me." Batgirl's eyes widened as she looked at the woman once more. "Kairi Tanaga?"_

 _Kairi bowed. "That I am." She straightened once more. "Bruce and I trained under the same sensei. Now I run this dojo."_

 _Another question came to Coba's mind. "What happened to your accent?"_

 _"Helps sell fish," Tanaga smirked._

 _Coba grinned as well._ I like her already. Terry would too... wait, where is he?

 _"I'll get your brother in a minute, Brooklyn," Kairi stated, reading Coba's worries from her sudden frown. "First, I want to show you something." She opened the door, revealing the main room of the dojo and the rest of her students, who were training hard. Kairi noticed Coba's gaze fall on a particular student. "Zander is one of my most advanced students," she said._

 _With terrifying precision, Zander kicked the head off of a practice mannequin, sending it flying in Kairi and Coba's direction. Coba felt a sense of foreboding as she caught the head and looked back at Zander._ Something's not right about Zander, _she thought._ I know it's just a mannequin, but he's so cold in his execution. And, there's something odd about his gaze, like he looks down on everyone.

 _The old woman pat the girl's shoulder, noticing her discomfort. "Don't worry so much, kid. He won't hurt fellow students. I assume you wish me to teach you more? Bruce told me your grandfather ran out of lessons a while ago."_

 _The small teen paused, thinking it over. Even though she would be training under the same roof as Zander, she still needed said training, knowing that getting better would ensure a victory against Kobra's goons should she face them again. "I would," she answered at last._

 _"Will you follow my instructions without question?"_

 _"Absolutely," Coba nodded._

 _"Good." Kairi handed a few unused uniforms to Coba, then gestured to another student. "Please show Brooklyn to a changing room so she can find one that fits better," she instructed. "I will see to her brother."_

~!~

The girl turned her head a bit as she heard someone walk in. She suppressed a grunt as she recognized the newcomer. _Terry._

"Hey, sis," McGinnis greeted. "How are you holding up?"

"With a crutch," Brooklyn answered bluntly.

Terry looked at her. "Very funny. You know what I mean."

"I'm fine," she lied, though she knew her half-brother would know she was.

"You're not fine," he said as gently as he could. "You've been distant, moody. And you're causing your body more pain than you know it can handle."

Coba looked at him, narrowing her eyes in irritation. "How would you know how much pain it can handle?"

The young man did not flinch at her tone. "We've been close to each other for the past five years and have fought side by side for about three. I've taken note of your expressions when you're in pain—and what levels they are at. And I'm also counting the ones you've made when you almost died in my arms."

Brooklyn stared at her half-brother for a moment, then relaxed her gaze with a sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry, bro," she apologized.

McGinnis pat her shoulder. "It's okay. You thinking about Kairi?"

She paused briefly, but nodded. "Yeah. I just..." Coba sighed again. "I just wish I'd been quicker, been better... That I'd _saved_ her."

"I know, sis. I wish I'd saved her, too." Terry looked down. "But she knew what was at stake and what had to be done. Just as the rest of us did."

"And she felt responsible for what happened with Zander," Coba added solemnly. "Then again, so did we." She looked at the floor. "Doesn't make handling what happened any easier. No matter what anyone says."

Terry gave her a small hug, careful not to hurt either of his or her cracked ribs. "I know."

The siblings turned their heads as Richard Grayson and Bruce came from behind the grandfather clock at the back of the room. "How are you feeling?" Grayson asked both teens.

"Fine," the young Batman stated.

Batgirl shrugged a little and turned, trying to avoid their sympathetic glances. "Been better."

"You should be in bed, Coba," Grayson chided. "You know what Mark said about the nanobots."

"Yeah, I know." Her friend Mark Wilson—also the hero Silverstar—had created nanobots to increase the pace of healing, but the patient had to rest a lot for the healing to work properly. _But it's too hard to rest when I keep seeing Kairi's final moments whenever I close my eyes,_ she thought sadly.

Dick carefully touched her shoulder. "Come on, kid. I'll help you up there."

"Why not let her use the couch?" Terry asked. "Then she wouldn't have to use the stairs."

"Good point."

"Though, something's telling me not to use it," Coba said.

"Your stubbornness?" her half-brother joked.

She shook her head. Her sharp hearing picked up the sound of a vehicle approaching from a couple of miles away. "Maybe it has to do with whoever's coming to visit?"

Grayson looked at Bruce. "Were you expecting anyone?"

Bruce shook his head. "This is as much a surprise to me as it is to you."

Coba peered out the large windows once more, narrowing her eyes to see a swift spot grow in size as it neared the manor. "Someone on a motorcycle," she said gruffly. "Just one, though; I don't see any others following it."

"Not an invasion, then," Terry said with a bit of relief. _No way could my ribs handle more cracks right now,_ he thought.

"Don't get your hopes too high," Grayson cautioned. "Just one could cause trouble."

The two teens watched as the motorcycle came to a stop in front of the garage. Terry blinked in surprise when the rider pulled their helmet off. "Uh, Bruce?"

"What?" the old man asked.

"Know anyone with a bald green head?"

"A few. What's the mask color?"

"Dark blue," Coba replied.

McGinnis looked at Wayne. "How did you know they're wearing a mask?"

"He's Bruce," Coba said bluntly.

Her half-brother stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Can't argue with that logic."

"You really can't," Nightwing confirmed.

Bruce opened the door after the bell had been rung. "Leonardo."

"Hello, Bruce," the turtle replied with a respectful bow. "It's been a while."

"Indeed. Come on in."

Leo walked into his old friend's home, looking around. "I see you haven't redecorated in forty years," he commented. He looked to the side as a deep growl sounded off from near the couch. "Though you clearly have an improved home security system."

" _How dare you call me a system?_ " Ace growled.

" _Because you respond to commands like one?_ " a giant pouched-rat retorted.

The turtle raised an eye ridge. "A talking dog and rat that are not mutant, in Wayne Manor? Now I've seen everything."

The rat looked at Ace. " _Seriously? Why is it so hard to see our communicators?_ "

" _Because Coba made them small to freak out people who don't know at first?_ " the large dog suggested.

" _Yeah, probably._ "

 _Coba... what an odd name,_ Leo thought.

"My mother named me. And I can hear your thoughts," Coba said sharply, causing him to look at her in surprise.

"Coba, manners," Grayson reprimanded.

Brooklyn looked down. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"It's alright," Leonardo replied. "I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to offend you."

"I know."

Bruce walked over to the group. "Leonardo, this is Richard Grayson, Terrence McGinnis, and Coba Brooklyn. Dick, Terry, Coba, this is Leonardo Splinterson," he introduced, looking to each person in turn.

Terry was intrigued. "A turtle splicer? Didn't know anyone would want to be, since turtles are slow."

"He's not a splicer," Coba and Bruce said just as Leo replied "I'm not a splicer."

"I'm a mutant turtle," the blue-masked visitor clarified. "My brothers, our sensei and I were exposed to alien mutagen over fifty years ago."

"Brothers?" Grayson asked. "How many?"

"Three."

"And I thought having two siblings was rough," Terry muttered.

"What _is_ a splicer?"

"A human spliced with mammal or reptilian DNA to gain physical traits of the chosen specimen," Coba responded gravely. "For example, the eyes of a feline or even the physique, horns and fur of a bull. Splicing had been made public by Doctor Abel Cuvier, but was almost immediately made illegal when the splicers started showing increased signs of aggression, as well as when a few of them attacked the district attorney and the police commissioner."

The dark blue-eyed visitor listened in interest, and noticed Terry shift uneasily when the girl mentioned the attack on the commissioner and district attorney. _He must've been there when it happened,_ he speculated. "How did you know I wasn't a splicer before being told?"

"For one thing, you haven't shown signs of aggression towards us, notably when I'd been rude. For another, my mind-reading." Coba frowned. "I apologize for that. I have yet to control it." She sobered. "Also, I sense you and Bruce had met decades before splicing became public, before Cuvier was at the age of creating it."

"That's right," he nodded. "You're perceptive, aren't you, Brooklyn-chan?"

Coba merely shrugged and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"What brings you to Gotham?" Bruce asked Leo.

The turtle paused. He had thought about how to tell them of his vision as he rode over, but seeing exactly who he was addressing caused the words to be stuck in his throat. The sight of the two injured teens gave him the sense that they had been with his late friend during her last stand. _And how can I explain about seeing her spirit without confusing them?_ he thought. He looked at Coba as he thought this. If she had heard his thoughts that time, he did not know, as her expression had already seemed troubled. "I... I came to pay my respects to Kairi," he said at last.

The first Batman nodded sagely. "I see. What about your brothers?"

"They may come in a while," Leo answered. "I don't know for sure, though."

He realized something. "Hang on a second: how did you know about Kairi's death? I thought we kept it a secret to keep from freaking the other students out."

Coba looked at Terry. "We did, but I sense he found out another way." She looked at the visitor once more, her cobalt blue and copper-spotted gaze meaningful. "Isn't that right?"

 _She_ did _hear me, then,_ Leonardo realized. "Yes. Her spirit came to me during meditation."

McGinnis and Grayson were surprised, though Wayne and Brooklyn remained grim. "Your connection with the spirit realm always has been strong, Leonardo," Bruce noted. "But she asked you something that's troublesome to you, didn't she?"

"Still quite the detective," Leo murmured. He raised his voice once more. "She asked me to complete the training of two of her students, both allies of yours." He looked at Terry and Coba. "I assume she meant these two."

"Makes sense," Bruce stated. "They both still have much to learn."

"Well, I do," Terry scoffed. He gestured to Coba. "Miss Mind-sponge over here probably already learned everything."

Coba did not even smile at her half-brother's jest. "If Kairi says I still need teaching, then I still need teaching. Though... I'd rather not have another sensei."

"If you say so, sunshine."

The girl's lack of humor coupled with the young man's comments made the turtle realize what was going on. _Something's wrong with her._

 _A number of things are, actually,_ Coba's voice rang in his head.

Terry glared at her upon seeing Leo's bewildered expression. "What are you doing, sis? Trying to freak him out?"

"What? No! Not intentionally."

"Or are you trying to figure out if he's telling the truth about Kairi's spirit?"

"That's not it at all!" Coba exclaimed defensively.

"Then why are you so on edge about the topic? Hasn't her spirit come to you yet? Has your mother's since last week?"

"Enough, McGinnis," Dick warned. He knew Terry had just stepped into dangerous territory, and knew Terry himself should have been well aware.

Batgirl's face was one of sorrow mixed with rage and guilt. Her mother, Natalie Brooklyn, was murdered when Coba was eleven years old, but her spirit sometimes visited Coba in dreams or spoke to her when the girl was awake. Natalie had warned her of the events surrounding Kairi's death, but Coba was unable to prevent it. The small teen feared that her failure caused Natalie to not visit her, and was afraid that it also resulted in Kairi not speaking to her either. How dare Terry shove her feelings back into her face? _But maybe I deserve it..._

"Answer me!" her brother pressed.

"I need some space," Coba said sharply, turning to the grandfather clock. _Leonardo already knows where the cave is,_ she knew. Upon moving the clock, she entered the cave, limping down the stone steps as the clock closed behind her.

 _Idiot,_ Leo thought of Terry as he looked at the boy. Bruce seemed to think so as well, as the old man smacked the teen on the back of the head.

"I'll talk to her," Grayson said, starting to go after his granddaughter.

Leo stopped him. "No, I'll talk to her in a minute," he replied grimly. "It's partially my fault she's upset right now, and like she said; she needs some space for a moment."

Nightwing hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded. "Okay." _Even though you hardly know her,_ he thought.

"How did you know Kairi?" Terry inquired Leo. He looked downcast for upsetting his half-sister, but there was also some curiosity in his gaze.

The green turtle paused thoughtfully. "It was a typical night. My brothers and I were patrolling near the shipyard in Manhattan when…"

* * *

 **Sorry for that cliff-hanger, but this chapter was already running really long. How exactly** _ **did**_ **the turtles meet Kairi? That will be revealed in the next chapter...**

 **In mind-bopping 3D!**

 _ **Wait, what?**_

 **Okay, maybe not in 3D... And maybe not mind-bopping... Then again, it's too soon to tell if it is or not.**

 **As for Terry calling Coba a "mind-sponge," he's referencing how quickly she catches on to lessons from others.**

 **The character Mark Wilson/Silverstar was created by Silverlynx13. Silver had given me permission to use him in my stories.**

 **Please leave a review and have a good rest of your day!**


	3. Chapter 2: Memories

**Author's Notes:**

 **Happy Fourth of July! For those who don't celebrate it, happy day!**

 **I apologize for the delay of this chapter. I came across quite a bit of writer's blocks, had high stress because of what's been going on around here, and my rat Cornflower passed away last week (RIP, little-big girl).**

 **Okay, not all of it is because of grimness; I also got into X-Men stuff again. XD I rewatched the original trilogy and the** _ **Origins**_ **movies, and watched the newest movies (including** _ **Logan**_ **) and episodes of** _ **X-Men The Animated Series**_ **and X-Men Evolution. That also caused me to lose some interest in this fic for a while, but I still hope to continue this.**

 **Anyway, here we go...**

* * *

 **New York**

" _What?!_ Why would he leave?"

Michelangelo looked at Raphael and Donatello, who had just arrived. "He said he had something to do first in Gotham, bro," Mike shrugged, answering Raphael's question. "Didn't say what it was, though. He said we could go when you got here."

Raphael looked ready to explode, which his brothers thought was normal for him. "Why would he leave without us? He knows how we feel about the people we know there."

"Kairi's dead."

The newcomers gaped at Mike, who was uncharacteristically grim. "What happened?" Donatello asked.

"Leo didn't say, but I'm not sure even he knows."

"Wouldn't be the first time he didn't know somethin'," the red-masked turtle muttered.

"Don't even start, Raph," Donatello said irritably, glaring at his older brother.

Raph sighed. "Sorry, Don." _How do I keep forgetting that we_ all _suffered that day?_

"He said he had to go alone for some reason," Mike continued, "but said we could go once you got here, if you wanted."

"Did he say somethin' about seein' Bruce?" the red-masked turtle asked.

"Yeah."

"Count me in. Not exactly lookin' forward to seein' Leo, but it would be nice to see the old man again."

Don nodded. "I'd like to see both, but it's been longer since we've seen Bruce."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Doesn't your company sometimes collaborate with Wayne Industries sometimes?"

"Yes, but sadly I'm not one of the lucky few to see Bruce. I have heard about him having two helpers, both teenagers."

"Both skilled in fighting?"

"Considering who they have to work with, most likely."

"Might not want to enter through the cave, then."

"Aww, why not?" Mike whined. "I want to surprise him!"

Don looked at Mike sternly. "Surprising him is not a good idea. Not only did he kick our shells last time we did, but now he has a heart condition—big reason why he needs help, from what I heard. Not to mention he might've beefed up security in the cave, what with the new Batman and Batgirl."

"Bummer."

"You sure the kids aren't Batman and Batgirl?" Raph asked with a raised eye ridge.

"Honestly, I don't know," his purple-masked brother answered. "The boy has a criminal record from when he was fourteen, and while the girl is said to be smart, her physical strength isn't up to par after being sick as an infant. I doubt Bruce would let them into the field."

"But who else could be Batman and Batgirl?" Mike asked.

Raph and Don looked at each other in silence for a heartbeat, then shrugged. "Only one way to find out," Raph commented, "and it ain't by sittin' around yappin' all night."

"At least not here, anyway," Don smirked.

"Whatever. I'll take my bike, you two take the van."

Mike frowned. "Uh, small problem with that plan."

"What?"

"Leo took your motorcycle."

"What?!" Raph exploded. "Why'd you let him?"

"How was I to know you'd want to use it right away? Besides, it won't be for long."

"Ya got that right."

Don shook his head despairingly. "I'm sure Leo would be happy to switch with you when we meet up with him and Bruce." _Okay, maybe not necessarily happy, but at least accepting of it,_ he mentally atoned.

"Fine," Raph groaned. "But don't expect me to be happy."

"We know better than to expect that, bro," Mike smirked roguishly.

~!~

"Master, the turtles are on the move."

"Good. Follow them."

"Hai, Master."

~!~

 **Gotham**

Coba smacked a punching bag repeatedly, ignoring the resulting pain in her healing ribs. An hour had passed since she came down to the cave, yet she had not stopped, not even to take a break. For the past few days, it had been the best way she could let out her frustration. _Even though I know it tears me up._

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

The small teen half-turned her head at the sound of the voice, pausing her assault on the punching bag. "I'll rest later, Leonardo-san," she answered, trying to keep an edge out of her voice. _I've lost count of how many times someone's told me to rest or asked if I should be._

"Please, Brooklyn-chan, call me Leo," the turtle said as he approached her.

She nodded in understanding. "Call me Coba."

He returned the nod. As she resumed her onslaught upon the bag, he noticed something. "Your ribs are fractured."

"Did Bruce or Grandfather tell you that?"

"No. I'm familiar with the stance, though."

Coba stopped again. "How so?"

"Raphael, one of my brothers, did that whenever his ribs were damaged. Does it keep them from hurting so much?"

Brooklyn shook her head without making a sound. _It makes them hurt more._

Leo became even more concerned for his old friend's daughter, as well as for his own brother. "Take a break," he requested. "You look like you're about to fall over."

She frowned, but reluctantly complied, sitting on the operating table the turtle was standing next to. "Aren't you going to lecture me for punishing myself?" she inquired tartly. "The others already have."

"No," Leo replied, ignoring her tone. "Looks like you're enduring enough self-punishment as it is."

The girl blinked in surprise, then frowned once more. "I don't think I'll ever have enough punishment after failing Kairi and Mom," she murmured.

"What makes you think you failed them?"

With a shake of her head, Coba looked away, unwilling to speak more of her own feelings. "Why did Kairi ask you to continue teaching us?" she asked after several moments of silence.

Leonardo frowned as well. "I don't know."

"But you've taught before?"

He nodded grimly. "Yes, but it..." He trailed off with a sigh. "It didn't work out."

Sensing his unease, Coba placed a small hand on his shoulder consolingly. "I'm sorry."

The turtle blinked at her benignly. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

"What happened?" Upon earning a more grim expression, Coba shook her head. "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright, Coba. If I feel up to it at some point, I'll tell you."

She blinked, surprised. _I wonder if I'll ever feel up to talking about Kairi's death..._ "How did you know Kairi?"

Leo was about to protest that he had already told the tale, but remembered that Coba had been down in the cave when he told Bruce, Dick and Terry. "My brothers and I had been on patrol one night when we heard cries for help. As we drew closer, we saw a middle-aged Japanese woman facing off against members of The Foot Clan, a group of ninjas led by The Shredder. We were confused, as the screams had been from a young girl, but Don—my brother, Donatello—saw a small mutant turtle hiding behind the woman. Although the woman was holding her own pretty well, we intervened, scaring off the ninjas."

"The woman was Kairi," Coba noted.

"Yes. She was respectful to us, even though we knew she felt somewhat disappointed that she didn't get to deal with The Foot all herself. She explained that she saw them chasing the girl, and asked if we knew her."

"But you didn't."

"Not at the time. Would you stop interrupting, please?" Leo asked, an edge of irritation in his voice.

Coba dipped her head apologetically. "Yes, sorry. Continue."

The turtle nodded in acknowledgement. "Introductions were made, then we went our separate ways, with the young turtle—we named her Venus de Milo, as she had lost all memory of her past and her name at the hands of The Foot—following my brothers and me home." He mentally noted Coba's look of sympathy for Venus, but continued. "A couple of days later, The Foot attacked Kairi to try to find out where Venus was, but Michelangelo and I got there in time to help Kairi. We let her stay with us until she could get to Gotham without trouble.

"During her visit, she helped me train Venus in the way of Bushido, and helped Venus pursue a martial art she showed signs of learning in her past: Shinobi. I had been struggling to before, as we had just lost our sensei, Hamato Splinter. When she started showing signs of supernatural abilities, Kairi helped me teach Venus how to control her emotions and concentrate on her abilities and surroundings." He chuckled. "All of us—except Mike—lost count of how many televisions and game consoles were destroyed during those days. Not that it fazed Kairi."

For the first time since losing her sensei, Coba laughed. "She never was one for using technology for fun, let alone at all."

Leo nodded with a smile, glad that he had managed to make the troubled teen laugh. His expression became grim once more. "It wasn't long until we learned that Venus and many others had been kidnapped by The Foot—as humans—to be experimented on with mutagen they'd stolen from the Utroms. Kairi helped us stop them from creating more mutants, as Venus did against our urgings to stay behind."

Coba could not stop herself from interrupting once more. "Because she wanted answers for why they tortured and experimented on her, and answers of where they were keeping her family."

The ninja blinked in surprise. "Exactly. Did you read my mind to figure that out?"

"Actually, that was just a guess," the girl replied with a shrug. "I would've wanted those answers, too, if I were in her place."

"So would I," he agreed. After a small pause, he resumed. "The battle was long and hard, but we managed to come out victorious. True to her word, Kairi left for Gotham after we recovered from our injuries. Still, she sent us letters from time to time over the years, and sometimes we'd all meet to catch up." Leo smiled fondly, though his voice started to catch. "Of course Venus would get excited about showing Kairi all she'd learned in between visits, and Kairi would praise me for teaching her so well."

Brooklyn blanched when she saw the love and pain in his eyes. _He'd loved Kairi, but never told her how he felt because of their differing species. Now he never will because of my failure to save her._

The turtle sighed, realizing the girl had read his thoughts and emotions. "Please don't tell anyone," he murmured.

"Hai, Leo," Coba acknowledged. "I know how to keep a secret." She looked around the cave. "Obviously."

He managed a weak smile. "I guess it does go without saying."

She nodded.

"How did you meet Kairi?" he asked.

Coba hesitated, knowing she would likely start getting emotional. _Then again, Leo_ did _just share how he met her, even though it wound up choking him up in the end._ She gently sighed, then told him how Bruce had sent her and Terry to train under Kairi, as well as the tests the woman put them through to see their skills.

 _She'd done that with Venus, as well,_ Leo mentally noted.

Batgirl blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Hai. She wanted to know exactly what Venus knew—"

"—so Kairi knew what else she had to learn."

"Do you often—"

"—finish others' sentences? Yeah. Habit."

"Think you can break it?"

"Tried and failed, though it worked for a short amount of time."

"Interesting." Leo regarded her for a moment.

The girl looked down grimly. _Yet another sign that I can't get things right._

Noticing her discontent, Leo pat Coba's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself." When she said nothing, he stood up. "Why don't we go up and wait for my brothers with the others?"

Although she disliked the idea of facing her brother after how he talked to her and would have rather stayed and practiced more, Coba found herself unable to refuse. In spite of not knowing him for long, she felt something of a kinship with Leo. _But am I disrespecting Kairi by feeling so about Leo, who's trying to take over her teachings?_ She shook her head slightly. _No, she'd want me to be happy. Wouldn't she?_ "Alright," she told him.

The turtle grinned, though inwardly he was nervous about seeing Raphael and Donatello again after so long. _Mike was much more forgiving and understanding than I'd anticipated, but how will Don and Raph react? We weren't on the best of terms last time we spoke, though I can hardly blame them._ He felt a small hand reach up and touch his shoulder consolingly, and once again he felt embarrassed. "I keep forgetting you can read my mind, Coba," he confessed.

"Can't say I blame you," the girl replied sagely. "It's not an ability everyone comes across every day. Anyway, you're not the only one thinking about sibling reactions right now."

Leo pat her head gently. "If it helps, Terry seemed a lot calmer before I came down."

Coba shrugged grimly. "I'm afraid it doesn't. He sometimes flares up again."

"Sounds a bit like Raphael."

She shrugged again. "Haven't met him, so I can't say for sure."

"Fair enough."

 _Fair..._

~!~

 _"Well, that was interesting," Terry said that afternoon as he and Coba ate a soup-stew dinner comprised of sodium-free chicken broth, brown rice, tofu chunks and softened steamed vegetables with Bruce at the manor._

 _"Indeed it was," Coba replied with a nod._

 _"She says I lack discipline and leave myself open on the left side. Can you believe that?"_

 _"If you want an honest answer, then yes." The girl smirked at Terry's scowl. "She told me I lack confidence," she continued, her expression becoming somber, "which is true. And that I can compensate for my... weakness," she said, gesturing to her crippled right foot. "I'm not sure of how true that is."_

 _"I don't doubt what Kairi says," Bruce told the half-siblings. "Part of her job is to assess the individual skills of potential students, and I've heard she does an exceptional job of it."_

 _Terry scoffed. "By getting her current students to help."_

 _"It works, though," Coba pointed out._

 _McGinnis sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

 _"Your soups are getting cold," Bruce chided._

 _"Oh yeah?_ You're _getting cold," Terry retorted._

 _"Uh, Terry?"_

 _"What, Coba?"_

 _Coba smirked. "He's already subarctic."_

 _Bruce hid his amusement with his usual grave expression. "She has a point."_

 _The young Dark Knight rolled his eyes. "Of course she does. But do we really have to eat this? It's so... bland. Can't we add seasonings or something?"_

 _Wayne stared hard at the boy. "Would you rather have the eel juice Kairi reccommended?"_

 _Terry and Coba shook their heads quickly, remembering how they had attempted to try it at Max's place earlier, as she was closer to the dojo and had a blender to mix the eel juice, brown rice and tofu together. The results included Terry nearly vomitting while Coba threw up what little was in her stomach along with the juice concoction. "Point taken," he said._

 _The trio finished their soup-stew in silence, aside from Coba nearly gagging at the tofu's texture and Terry's occasional disgusted snorts at the wilted broccoli. The girl got up to wash the dishes when they were all done, but Bruce stopped her. "I'll take care of this. You're both due back at Kairi's."_

 _Terry face palmed. "Speaking of torture. Come on, sis."_

 _Coba followed, but raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's torture if we haven't even been taught yet?" Before he could reply, she figured it out and ace-palmed as well. "Oh, yeah. The dietary restrictions."_ Still, maybe she won't torture us as badly as she did with the food, right?

 _~!~_

Wrong.

 _Upon arrival at the dojo, Terry and Coba were immediately told to put their uniforms on and to balance a wooden chair on their foreheads. They were not allowed to wear their shoes to aid their balance, much to Coba's chagrin, as her crippled right foot made it harder for her to stay upright without anything on it to aid the traction, and her uniform—which had a green belt tied about her middle—being a size too large added to the difficulty. She had slipped once on the wooden floor already, which elicited snickers from a couple of other students before they were silenced by Kairi's stern glare._

 _"Keep your chins up," Kairi instructed her newest students. "It's all about balance."_

 _Beside Coba, Terry was faring little better. Unlike his half-sister, he had no trouble with his feet or his new uniform, upon which he wore the white belt of a beginner. However, his slightly weaker left leg and lack of prior training made it difficult for him to maintain balance. He too had slipped earlier._

 _Kairi smirked as she got an idea. Using her chopsticks, she tossed pieces of fish to the floor where the teens were about to step. McGinnis immediately slipped upon contact with it and fell, managing to catch the chair with his ands before it could his his face. Brooklyn slipped a bit, but quickly pulled her right leg back and slid her left leg back a touch, managing to stay upright. Terry pulled a piece of fish off of his foot and glared at Kairi. "No fair!"_

 _"Fair?" the woman echoed, her smirk turning into a frown. "Only fair around here is in September. Deal with it!" She turned her gaze to a surprised Coba, softening her demeanor. "Not bad, kid. You've got the moves of a master."_

 _"I didn't know I could do that," the girl said, bewildered at her own reflexes. Upon speaking, however, the chair tipped and fell, but Coba caught it before it could hit Kairi._

 _"Show off," Terry muttered. He grunted when Kairi reached over and smacked him with a staff. "Fine, I'll get back to it." He placed the chair back on his forehead and kept practicing, as Coba had resumed doing as well._

 _After a while, Kairi let them take a break. Terry stepped through the back door of the dojo to get some air, with Coba following suit. The young man wiped sweat from his brow with a towel. The dojo's door opened again, this time with Zander exiting with two large men at either side. Must be his guardians, McGinnis thought. "Hey, Zander," he greeted. "Nice workout."_

 _"Step aside," one of the brutish guardians said. He shoved Terry aside, causing him to bump into his little sister with a grunt._

 _Coba helped Terry stand upright once more. They watched as Zander and his guardians entered the black car waiting for them, which promptly left. "Who died and made_ him _king of the world?" Terry snorted, referencing their classmate._

 _"Beats me," Coba replied._ Though I'm wondering that myself, now.

~!~

"Coba? Coba, are you alright? You're bumping me into the wall."

The girl blinked and shook her head as she returned to reality. "Yeah, sorry. I'm fine, Leo," she said bluntly. "Just... remembering something, that's all."

The turtle nodded in understanding. As they entered the manor, he heard a familiar ringing. Reaching into a pocket of his leather motorcyclng pants, he pulled out a phone shaped like a turtle shell. Recognizing the number, he answered. "Hi, Mike."

 _"Leo, where are you?!"_

"Whoa, whoa! I'm at Wayne's," Leo answered, caught off guard by his brother's urgent tone. From out the corner of his eye, he saw Coba pull out a device. "What's going on?"

 _"Don't tell him, Mike! Not like he can help us,"_ the blue-masked terrapin heard Raph say in the background.

 _"It's either tell him or die, Raph!"_ Don yelled.

 _"We were ambushed,"_ Mike clarified, grunting as his nunchaku collided with another weapon. _"Someone followed us. We tried to lose them, but—"_ He yelled as he was struck down, causing the phone to hang up.

"Mike? Mikey!" Leo exclaimed.

"They're at a junkyard on Main Street and Black Road," Coba said grimly. Without waiting for an answer, Coba darted back down into the cave.

"Wait up!" Terry called after her. "You're not ready to go back out there!"

Grayson frowned. "She's not going to stop."

"No, but we can follow," Leo responded, narrowing his eyes, heading back down the stairs.

By the time they got to the cave, Coba had already suited up and was starting to leave via Batcycle. Terry pulled his Batsuit over his clothes as he and Leo raced toward the Batmobile. _I hope we're not too late,_ they both thought.

* * *

 **Yep, all that just happened.**

 **And yes, I included Venus de Milo (sorry, Peter Laird). However, since I haven't seen the series with her and only know things about her from reading the wiki pages, I'm doing my own version of her. Answers regarding her whereabouts will be answered later.**

 _ **What about why Raph and Don would be upset with Leo?**_

 **That will be answered later as well.**

 _ **And when will we read Coba's memories of Kairi's death?**_

 **Later.**

 _ **Who followed Mikey, Donnie and Raph?**_

 **Again, later.**

 _ **Ugh!**_

 ***Snickers cruelly.***

 **As always, please have a good rest of your (holi)day! :D Reviews are welcome as well!**


	4. Chapter 3: Dark Angel of Mercy

"Mikey!"

Donatello's shout rang in the ears of his opponent. With the thug briefly stunned, Don struck the villain hard with his bo staff. The purple-masked turtle twirled his staff in a circle rapidly, warning the remaining thugs to stay back as he made his way to his fallen brother. He was inwardly relieved when Raphael knocked out a few of the thugs while Don checked on Michelangelo. _He's still alive, but I can't tell if he'll be out for a while or for a few minutes,_ he thought grimly. "We need to get him out of here!"

"How do you propose we do that?" Raph grunted, jabbing at another enemy with his sais and flinging him over himself. "We're surrounded! And don't you dare suggest surrendering."

"I hope it doesn't come down to that," Don replied, gritting his teeth. "Who are these guys?"

"I was hopin' you could tell me, genius." The dark green-skinned terrapin glared at an oncoming thug through his one eye. When the fight started he had thought he and his brothers were being attacked by the Foot Clan, but then he remembered that the Clan had been disbanded after the fall of Karai, The Shredder. In addition, the Foot's uniforms had been black and red, not black and purple. _Why purple?_

The answer came to Raph, momentarily stunning him. _The Purple Dragons. They followed us all the way here._ He narrowed his eyes. _But there's no reason to ask why when we already know._

"Maybe we should leave," a thug was barely heard saying to another. "Their friend is hurt, and the Bats are likely on their way."

His companion hit him upside the head. "Pull yourself together, will ya?" he scolded. "We have our orders. Besides, if the Bats were coming they'd be here by—"

"—now!"

The villains and turtles looked in the direction of the gruff shout that finished the speaker's sentence. To their surprise, the small, black and blue figure of Batgirl jumped off of the Batcycle at the Purple Dragons. Her eyes were terrifyingly ablaze with cobalt blue light, terrifying the thug she slammed a fist into. She expertly fought off the thugs as more approached her, causing Raph to be momentarily stunned.

From the corner of her eye, Coba noticed a large Purple Dragon wielding pipe as he sneaked up behind the purple- and orange-masked terrapins. The haunting memory of a brute coming up behind an old woman entered the small warrior's mind. Her eyes narrowed angrily, her fists glowing cobalt blue. _Get down!_ she thought to the purple-masked ninja as she fired a Starbolt in his direction.

Upon hearing her warning and seeing the Starbolt, Don ducked, covering Mike's body with his torso. He had not been aware of the Purple Dragon behind him until the projectile struck the villain in the chest, causing him to fall back with a grunt. Don kicked his face, knocking him unconscious. A groan from Mike brought the olive green-skinned turtle's attention back to his brother.

"Don? Ugh, my head..."

"Easy, Mike," Donatello replied, using a strong hand to support his brother's neck as he helped Michelangelo sit up. "Let the ache fade, then you can—"

A laser bullet hit the ground mere inches away from the two brothers, causing Mike to leap into Don's arms with a terrified squeal.

"—break my back and make my ears ring," Don muttered, rolling his eyes.

Mike looked to see that Batgirl had already disarmed the gunman with a batarang, but more gunmen were getting on the platform. Knowing they would keep shooting, he pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground, unleashing a thick cloud of smoke. Before the Purple Dragons could figure out what was happening, Mike practically came out from out of nowhere and took down a thug before disappearing behind another plume of smoke. _So much for taking it easy,_ he thought.

Meanwhile, Don was also taking on gunmen, rendering them unconscious as he swung his staff around and jabbed it at them relentlessly. He noticed Raph and Batgirl were both dodging gunfire, though the burning, rage-filled eyes of Brooklyn told him that the small Gotham protector had been under her fair share of gunfire over the few years she had been patrolling. Still, he could not help but marvel at her skill and strength in spite of (in his opinion) clearly being in agony while battling. A thought hit him. _She was one of Kairi's students. That must be what Raph thought too when he paused._

The two Purple Dragons who spoke before Batgirl's arrival rubbed at their bruised cheeks and ribs. "Now I see why you weren't keen about Batgirl," one said to the thug who had wanted to leave early. "I don't even want to get to know Batman."

As if on cue, the Dark Knight himself came up behind them. "Why not? Can't handle this much awesome?"

Batman apprehended one, but the more cowardly of the thugs ran before Terry could grab him. Seeing the Purple Dragon running, Batgirl charged after him, her eyes narrowing determinedly. _I know that run..._

Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo were surprised to see Batman arrive with their brother Leonardo, even though they had already managed to beat back most of the thugs with Coba's help. While Mike and Don were relieved to see Leo, Raph was a bit irritated. "You okay?" Leo asked them.

"Fine, no thanks to you," Raph snorted. "What took ya so long? Isn't the back-up supposed to come _after_ who they're supportin'?"

"Batgirl had a head start," Leo replied grimly. "She tracked your location from my T-phone."

Don's eyes widened enthusiastically. "Another tech genius? Great!"

"Speaking of Batgirl, where did she go?" Mike asked.

A scream of terror and pain pierced their ears. "That way," Batman said grimly, running ahead of the terrapins towards where he knew his sister was.

Once they got to Batgirl, they were shocked to see she was standing with the cowardly man cornered. He was clutching his ankle, leading them to deduce that he had tripped. "P-please, d-don't hurt me," he whimpered.

"After what you've done to so many innocents?" Brooklyn growled.

His face paled behind his mask. "I-I have n-no idea w-what you m-mean..."

 _"Batgirl, back off,"_ Bruce ordered from her com-link. _"He's from the Purple Dragons, from New York."_

"Not originally." She ripped off the man's mask, revealing the face of a familiar person. "He was with Kobra."

Batman managed to hide his shock. The man had been there the day Kairi died. "Restrain him," Terry said at last. "Leave him for the cops. No arguments," he added sharply as Coba was about to protest.

"Let her speak," Raph growled, "or I will. Just warnin' ya; what I have ta say ain't pretty."

With a sigh of defeat, Batman let his half-sister speak. Still enraged, Batgirl turned and faced the villain once more. "Why did you follow them?" she growled, gesturing to Raph, Don, and Mike. "Who sent you?"

Because of the multiple faces ranging from grim to angered, the man did not hesitate to answer: "I was just following orders! The master wanted them to be followed. I don't know who—"

A bullet whipped through the air at that moment, silencing the former Kobra. His corpse slid to the ground, a bloody hole in his forehead. Batgirl recovered in time to see a sniper standing on the roof of another building...

Aiming at Leonardo.

"Taking my shot, boss," Coba barely heard him say. "The one with the blue mask is good as— _ungh!_ "

The gunman stumbled sideways as Batgirl shoved him with telekinesis, causing him to pull the trigger. The laser bullet hit the wall, missing the heroes completely. Coba flew towards him swiftly before he could take aim once more. She kicked his jaw forcefully, sending him down upon the roof's rough surface. In a fit of rage, she punched his face, momentarily stunning him. She pulled him to her face by the collar of his shirt, but he recovered and tried to throw her aside. Batgirl held on tightly as he flung himself around to try to get her off, then she slammed a knee into his gut, disabling him once more.

"Who hired you?" she asked gruffly.

"No one, runt," the man smirked.

Coba's grip tightened, causing him to wince. "Don't lie to me! I heard you referring to someone as 'boss.'"

"Like you can hear from that far away."

"She can, actually," Batman clarified. He was in the Batmobile once more with Leo back in the passenger seat, hovering just beside the building.

" _Let's see if you can hear this, Batgirl,_ " a feminine voice crackled through the sniper's communicative device.

The eyes of both Batgirl and the sniper widened as a beeping sound came from his earpiece. _Explosives!_ she mentally alerted Batman and Leo.

The sniper became frantic. "No! Please, don't—"

" _You knew the price of failure before joining, Murphy._ "

Batgirl looked at the earpiece. Ten seconds were left. "Hang on," she told the gunman, reaching for it.

"Don't bother, Batgirl," Murphy said, grabbing her hand with his robotic left hand and pulling it away. "It's set to go off, even when the piece is removed. Save yourself!"

The small teen blinked at him in surprise. _An enemy's telling me to run?_ "I can't let you die!"

"You'll have to."

"Batgirl!" Terry yelled, having had heard the exchange.

 _Five seconds._

Without a word, Leonardo jumped out of the Batmobile and sprinted across the roof. He wrapped a strong arm around Batgirl's small waist as he continued to the roof's edge, pulling her away from the sniper. Relieved that the girl was out of harm's way, the sniper closed his eyes as death neared.

 _Two... one..._

Leo jumped off of the roof mere heartbeats before the bomb went off. However, he was baffled when the explosion was much smaller than he had thought. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the sniper was still alive, but just as confused as the turtle was. It was then that Leo finally noticed the intense level of concentration on Coba's face. The girl had her arms partially tucked in, her hands pointing towards the sky at a small ball of flame that was shrinking. She and Leo were still high up in the air instead of falling like the terrapin had expected.

Once the flame was out, they were lowered down slowly, Coba's eyes still narrowed from the effort to support herself and the large turtle. Batman drove his vehicle to line up with them, opening the sun roof door. Leo braced his legs for the landing as Brooklyn stopped using her powers. He landed expertly in the passenger seat, carefully positioning her so she would not get hurt. Alarm flashed in his eyes when he realized her breathing had become ragged. "She's hurt," he informed Terry.

"I know," McGinnis said grimly. "This happens whenever she strains herself too much with her powers. If I let you out, can you get your brothers to the manor while I get her to the cave?"

The ninja hesitated. It had been a long time since he had last spoken to Don and Raph. Would they listen to him now? _And wouldn't Coba be jostled around too much if she's only in the seat?_ he suddenly wondered.

 _It's okay, Leo,_ Batgirl thought to him. _Batman drives slow enough to prevent that when I'm hurt. Help your brothers. They need you more than I do at the moment. I sense Michelangelo is hurt._

Leo facepalmed. _I forgot about that._ He looked at Batman. "Yes, I can. Don't yell at her for having another mental conversation with me," he added, noticing Terry was about to open his mouth once more. "In this case, it helped her save her breath and strength."

Coba blinked at Leo, surprised that he had defended her, as the Batmobile landed beside Leo's brothers. As he got out and placed her in the seat, she noticed Raph storming over to them. _He's upset about the sniper incident._ She was relieved when Leo stopped him, seeming to know what was on his brother's mind.

"We'll talk about this later," Leo said sternly. "Right now, we need to get to the Batcave so Mike and Batgirl can get medical attention."

Raph held his sibling's gaze with his remaining eye for a moment, then huffed. "Fine."

~!~

Murphy watched in confusion as Batman, Batgirl, and the turtles left. _I'd been ordered to kill the turtle with the blue mask, yet Batgirl still risked her life to save mine. Why would she do that?_

He looked at his hands blankly. Lieutenant Brighton James Murphy had been raised by a military family after his own parents had died, and was taught how to use a rifle at the age of nine. Ten years later, he was enlisted into the army and became an expert sniper. Upon being sent home on an honorary discharge after losing his left arm in the line of duty, he had hopes of returning to his foster family's farming business after gaining the prosthetic mechanical arm he now wore, but they were shattered when arsonists set the fields on fire, destroying the farm and killing his loved ones.

Brighton had traced the arsonists to a club in New York. Hiding in an abandoned building on the other side of the road, he relied on the only thing he had left: his skill as a rifleman. Within ten seconds, he had gotten his revenge to the full, as he had also taken out the corrupt real estate agent who had hired the criminals. Before he could leave, a mysterious figure had stopped him from leaving until she agreed to not tell the cops, on the condition that he worked for her.

 _I should have said no,_ Murphy thought grimly, covering his eyes with his robotic hand as tears threatened. _Surely rotting in jail is better than living each day with the knowledge that I killed people who turned out to be innocent victims of that crazy woman, whose name I've never heard?_

The question from before came back: _Why would Batgirl bother to save a dreg like me?_

* * *

 **And this has been another episode of Coba: Child Prodigy at Getting Characters to Reevaluate Their Life Choices. XD Seriously, though, she seems to have a knack for doing that, doesn't she.**

 **As for Murphy, we'll see him again later. Unless I forget to put him in later, which I hope doesn't happen. Inspiration for him and his scenes came from "The Enemy Inside" by Dream Theater (like this fic's name did) and "White Death" and "No Bullets Fly" by Sabaton. Yes, I know the last two songs are about people from World War II: "White Death" being about a Finnish sniper with that nickname; "No Bullets Fly" being about a German pilot who risked his life two ways (one by being court-martialed and possibly being put to death for disobeying orders, the other by flying into enemy and friendly fire) to save an injured Allied pilot by escorting him out of harm's way. Of course, "No Bullets Fly" loosely inspired the scene of Coba saving Murphy.**

 **Also, I randomly came up with his name. Any likeness to people in reality is purely coincidental.**

 **Please leave a review and have a great rest of your day!**


	5. Chapter 4: Questions

**My sympathies go to the people caught in the paths of the hurricanes and the families of their victims.**

* * *

"Why would you bother to save a creep like him?! He was going to kill us!"

Coba winced as Raphael's yelling pierced her sensitive ears. She and Michelangelo were each laying on an operating table, eating a few zorkaberries from a plant Starfire had given her during Coba's visit to the Titans' Tower in Jump City. Since some of the girl's powers and DNA were from the Tamaranean, eating certain foods from Tamaran helped her regain strength. Though Coba was used to the berries' exceedingly tart taste, Mike was making uncomfortable faces each time he ate a berry, but his hunger kept him from turning them down.

"He needed help, Raphael-san," she answered simply.

"Guys like him don't deserve help," Raph growled. "They deserve to die. How do you know he won't—"

"—try to hunt us down?" Coba finished. "His own boss tried to kill him. He tried to get me to leave so I wouldn't die with him in the blast. Plus," she added with a slight smirk, "I disabled his weapons and tracking devices during the explosion."

"That explains why you're a bit weaker than usual," Bruce noted. "You're lucky you're not unconscious."

"Or temporarily blind," Grayson added, remembering the time his granddaughter had overused her powers during a training exercise at the T Tower.

The small warrior nodded grimly. "Neither are much fun."

"Then why risk them for the sniper?" Raph demanded harshly.

"Again, he needed help. Part of him was asking for it; I sensed his disgust in what he was doing."

The red-masked turtle gave her a look. "You think savin' him would get him to change his path?"

"I don't think, Raphael-san, I _know_."

He huffed. "Stop calling me that. We're not friends, so don't say my name with or without a Japanese ending."

"What do you want me to call you, then?" she inquired, trying to sound pleasant.

"Sir," Raph growled.

Coba nodded sagely. _I guess I deserve his bitterness. I managed to save a criminal tonight, but haven't been able to save innocents in a while._ She looked down. _What's wrong with me?_

"Raph, be nice," Don advised. "She _did_ save our shells back there." He looked at her. "But how did you find us?"

 _I guess I got that right, though._ "I traced the call made from Michelangelo-san's T-phone to Leo's," Brooklyn explained. "It took a little longer than usual to pinpoint the location, though, and I mean it both as a compliment to you and as an annoyance."

Don raised an eyeridge. "Why an annoyance?"

"Because it took me longer to find you. If I hadn't been so tech savvy, then..." She trailed off, her features becoming grim at the disturbing thought.

The purple-masked terrapin blinked in realization. "Oh. I guess so."

"What took Leo and... _Batman_ so long?" Raph asked. _Gonna be hard gettin' used to Bruce not bein' Batman anymore._

"I, uh, left without them, sir," Coba confessed awkwardly.

"Why would ya do somethin' like that? You could've died! Shell, _we_ could have died!"

Leo gave his red-masked brother a dead-pan look. "You may as well ask yourself that, Raph. You've done the same thing many times."

Raph glared at Leo, but said nothing.

"Your brother does have a point, though," Coba told the leader grimly. "We were greatly outnumbered. It's a wonder none of us are dead."

"Yeah, though I did get the shell kicked out of me," Mike stated.

"And screamed like a girl," Raph contributed with a smirk.

"Exactly. Hey!" Mike said indignantly.

Don rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Some things never change."

Bruce grinned. "Mm. They don't." He looked at Coba, his smile fading into a frown as she stood from the table. "Where are you going?"

The girl started for the staircase. "Upstairs," she replied without looking back.

"Hang on, let me help you," Grayson offered, seeing how wobbly she was as she walked.

"I got this," she protested. However, as soon as she reached the middle of the stairs, she lost her footing and fell, sliding back down to the bottom. Narrowing her eyes, she stood back up, gritting her teeth against the pain. She gave her grandfather a glare as he moved to help her. "I said I got this," she growled, much to everyone's surprise.

Raph huffed. "Don't look like you got it, pipsqueak."

"Let us make sure there hasn't been more damage," Don said, ignoring his brother's comment.

"I'll check upstairs," Coba rasped.

"You can't check if you're dead, sis," Terry countered, standing beside Bruce near the computer. "Do you really think Kairi would want that of you?"

Coba shifted her harsh gaze to her half-brother. "She'd want me to do my best." _Even if it kills me,_ she added mentally.

Leo seemed to read her last thought. "At least let someone go with you. They don't need to help."

"Unless necessary," Coba added, knowing that was what the others were thinking. She was silent for a few long moments, then she sighed. "Fine," she relented.

Dick followed his granddaughter up the stairs after giving Leo a grateful look. _Good thing he knew what to say,_ he thought.

"Is she always like this?" Raph asked when Grayson and Brooklyn were out of earshot.

Bruce shook his head.

"Then, what happened?" Don asked.

"She's been taking Kairi's death hard," Terry explained. He looked down. "She struggled after her mom died, and after our Dad was killed." He thought he saw Bruce's expression flicker, yet the teen dismissed it. "But this... I haven't seen her in this state before. I think she's forgetting that we're all feeling Kairi's loss."

"I'm not so sure, Terrence-san," Leo stated sagely. "I sense more pain from Coba whenever someone expresses their sorrow for Kairi."

"You mean guilt," Don realized.

"Why would she feel guilty?" Raph inquired. "She don't seem like the type to kill, especially from what we saw earlier when she let that sniper live."

McGinnis looked at them solemnly. "I assumed she told Leonardo why."

"She dodged the questions I asked about Kairi when we spoke earlier," Leo clarified with a shake of his head.

Terry sighed. "I should have known." He looked at the turtles again. "All I know is that she tried to save Kairi but failed."

Don raised an eye ridge. "Have you said that out loud around her?"

"No. Why?"

"In case it was a reason why she feels so much guilt," the purple-masked ninja answered. "If one felt that someone else thought it was one's own fault, it could make them feel even worse."

Leo listened solemnly, keeping a straight face. _Maybe that's why she didn't want to talk about it,_ he thought. _She probably thinks I'd blame her, especially after I accidentally told her I'd loved Kairi. I'll talk to Coba about it in a while._

~!~

It took almost twenty minutes, but Coba managed to make it to her bedroom. She noticed Grayson was trying hard not to pitch in and help her when she clearly had a rough time, so she would pause for a moment to catch her breath. As they got to the floor her bedroom was on, she heard the entrance to the Batcave open. _Leo must be about to tell his brothers why he came here,_ she speculated, detecting their voices. "Sorry for my behavior earlier, Grandfather," she said after he walked with her to her room.

"It's okay," Grayson assured her.

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have—"

The one-eyed man gently pat her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. There are other things we need to think about."

"Like who—"

"—was after the turtles? Yes." Dick smirked at Coba's surprised look. "What? Two can play at this game."

Coba gave him a tiny grin. "Indeed." She frowned once more. "Though, the only person I can think of who could be after them is Venus de Milo, but I don't know enough about her or her last meeting with the turtles to say. Perhaps they'll elaborate more after they get settled."

"She told you _what?_ " Raph shouted. A loud crash told the listeners that the angry turtle had broken a vase. "You know what happened last time you taught!"

"I do know, which is why I haven't committed yet," came Leo's response. He was clearly trying to stay calm.

"Assuming they ever get settled," Grayson quipped. "I'll see if I can diffuse the situation. You wait here."

The girl nodded, knowing she was too worn out to go with him.

"I'm amazed that you're even considering this!" Don exclaimed.

"I'm not," Raph growled. "He'd do anything for Kairi. Why bother, Leo? She wouldn't have accepted you, alive or dead!"

Coba could sense Leo's rising anger, even from so far away. "That's not the point, Raph! She helped us in the past. She wouldn't have asked this if she didn't feel it was necessary."

"He has a point, Raph," Mike added. "Besides, maybe Kairi probably thinks he can manage this time. I mean... it looks like Coba could use his help."

Raph could not help but laugh. "Are you kiddin'? She held her own just fine. It's her priorities and temper she needs ta get straightened."

"Exactly, bro! Remember when Leo had that attitude and got help from The Ancient One?"

"Yeah?"

"That's the kind of help she needs now, maybe more than she does with combat," Mike said.

"She needs a bit of both, actually," Grayson amended, coming down the steps. "But yes, Michelangelo is right."

Mike seemed surprised. "I am?"

"He is?!" his brothers chorused in equal surprise.

Nightwing raised his eyebrow. "I take it that it's a rarity."

"You got that right," Raph snorted.

"Who broke that vase?"

Raph shifted uncomfortably as his brothers exchanged looks before looking at him.

"Mind cleaning it up?" Grayson asked. "There are two critters who enjoy running around without foot protection; a dog and a rat. Bruce and Coba wouldn't be happy if their paws got sliced up on the glass."

The dark green-skinned terrapin muttered something under his breath, but did as he was asked after finding a broom and a dust pan. He finished just as Ace and Ed came up to them. "What?" Raph asked. "Come to critique me?"

"Yep," Ed spoke through the communicator, sarcasm in his voice.

Leo smirked as his brothers' jaws dropped. "Oh, did we forget to mention that Coba's an inventor?"

"She invented talking animals?" Mike asked witha raised eyeridge.

Grayson struggled not to laugh. "Uh, no. She built the communicator Ed—the rat— is using."

Ace stuck out his big chest proudly. "She made mine, too."

Don approached the animals, studying the devices they had. He seemed to not notice Ed and Ace shifting uncomfortably at him getting so close. "Fascinating." He looked at Grayson. "Remind me to ask her how she makes them."

Richard shrugged. "If you insist, though I don't know if she'll tell you. She likes to keep her building techniques secret."

"Like she keeps Kairi's death a secret?"

The one-eyed man glared at the one-eyed turtle. "She doesn't like holding it; I've seen it in her eyes," he said levelly. "She's probably worried about what we'll think of her if she does say."

"So the daughter of Batman's a coward?" Raph sneered.

"Dude, you saw today that she's the opposite of a coward!" Mike pointed out.

"Right again, Michelangelo," Grayson said without looking at him. "She gets scared by certain things, yes. But she still pulls through and goes above and beyond the call of duty." He came within half an inch of Raphael's face. "Don't let me, Bruce or Terry catch you saying otherwise."

"Or us," Ed said seriously, Ace growling in agreement.

Raph said nothing in reply, but sat down on the couch besides Mike.

Coba sighed as she lied down on her bed, pulling a bioscanner over her chest. _I've tried time and time again to prove I'm not a coward. But, in this case, am I a coward for not saying what happened?_ She closed her eyes. _Kairi would know the answer, I'm sure. Like she had about failure. Though, it doesn't make dealing with it any easier..._

~!~

 _One evening, Coba was sitting in a private room in the dojo, surrounded by a circle of lit candles. She knew she could easily put out the flames with her telekinetic abilities, but she was testing her physical skills, not her powers._ I couldn't even save Dr. Banjahri with my powers the other night. Why must my body be so weak without my Batsuit?

 _Two nights before, a paleontologist by the name of Dr Padu Banjahri was being chased by members of Kobra riding armed single-rider hover crafts. Terry and Coba had just gotten off a tram and were on the phone with Bruce when the panicked scientist ran into them. The teens followed him after he ran off again at the sight of his pursuers gaining. Unfortunately, the half-siblings were separated from him when a Kobra member shot a pillar, causing it to fall just as Coba was about to go under. Terry pulled her back in the nick of time, but both were too late to stop Kobra; by the time they reached Banjahri, his mind had already been wiped by a drug._

 _The next day, Terry, Max and Coba went to the Gotham Natural History Museum in attempt to further understand what Banjahri was studying and why Kobra went after him. While Max distracted another paleontologist, Terry and Coba hacked into Banjahri's computer. To their chagrin, what they found only raised more questions._

 _"_ Thermal bombs and dinosaur DNA, _" Bruce had mulled over their radios. "_ What's the connection? _"_

 _Coba took a deep breath in effort to calm herself. Adding to her stresses that night included failing a sparring match against Zander and Terry sneaking out of the dojo with Zander to have the advanced martial arts student try pizza at Cheezy Dan's. Terry accused her of not liking Zander because he beat her, and refused to listen when she denied this and tried to warn him that something was off about the young man._ But Terry never seems to learn, _she thought grimly._

I should've gone with them. Maybe I could still catch up and stop what's coming. But would I even be able to? I couldn't even beat Zander tonight.

 _Pushing her thoughts aside, the girl focused on the task before her. She rose to her feet. She narrowed her eyes as she struck a hand out at the space between herself and the candles. A third of the candles had their flames snuffed out. Coba repeated her attack, this time with her other hand, and got the same result. When she lashed out again, it was with both hands. The remaining fires were extinguished._

 _"You train like a woman obsessed."_

 _Startled, Coba turned around to see Kairi standing by the door of the room she was practicing in. Regaining composure, she bowed to her sensei, who bowed in return. Brooklyn looked down. "I'm not good enough, Kairi. I lost."_

 _"Everyone loses now and again, Brooklyn," the woman replied._

 _"I have to be better, stronger, faster," Coba went on, turning away. "I can't afford to fail again."_

 _"Failure can be more instructive than victory." Kairi smirked, stifling a small chuckle._

 _"What's so funny?"_

 _"My sensei had told your father the same thing when he was... actually, he was a few years older than you, in his late teens."_

 _Coba turned and looked at Kairi once more, her eyes wide with shock. "How did you know?"_

 _Kairi's smile grew. "I've known since I saw you and your brother fight that first day. There was a certain way you each moved that had 'Bruce' written all over, but it was your determination that gave it away. Though, I'd rather not know how he has offspring at such an advanced age."_

 _Batgirl made sure there were no other students nearby. Relieved that she could not see or hear any, she managed a grin. "Good. 'Cause I'd rather not explain it. It's so complicated that I'm not sure I can explain it right."_

 _Tanaga laughed a bit. "Coming from a brainiac like you? That's saying something."_

 _"Kind of, though there are still things that stump me."_ Like the connection between thermal bombs and dinosaur DNA, _Coba thought._

 _"Speaking of your brother, where is he? I thought you were taking your dinner break with him. And have you seen Zander?"_

Oh, dregs...

~!~

Batgirl opened her eyes as there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Who's there?" she asked.

"It's Leo, Coba. May I come in?"

"Hang on a moment." She checked the readings from the bioscanner. None of the cracks in her ribs had grown. _Good._ Coba set the scanner aside and sat up on her bed. "Come in."

The green-skinned mutant opened the door before stepping inside. "Want the door left open?"

Coba nodded. "C-care to sit down?" she asked awkwardly.

Leo nodded back. He sat beside her on her bed. "I take it you heard the argument downstairs."

She nodded again. "Yeah. But Raph's probably right about me being a coward in this case. I have been afraid to talk about what happened when I last saw Kairi."

"It's natural to be afraid, Coba," Leo said calmly. "It doesn't make you a coward."

"It does if you let it consume you," the small girl stated grimly.

"Then don't let it. But that doesn't mean you have to say it right away," he added. "When you're ready."

Coba looked down. Tears started forming in her eyes. "I don't know that I'll ever be ready." _Or if anyone will be ready to listen, or grasp it._ A single tear drop slid down one of her cheeks.

The turtle placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't count it out just yet," he advised gently. "Or think you have to face this alone."

"I should, though. It'll save others from what I'm carrying."

"No," Leo replied, shaking his head. "That's the worst thing you can do. Trust me on that."

 _I'm not so sure._ Coba looked up at Leo. "Why did you really come up here?"

"Something your brother said. He said you tried to save Kairi."

Another tear fell. "But I failed, obviously."

He gently lifted her head up by her chin and wiped her tears away with a large thumb. "The point is that you tried to save her life. You're a compassionate person, Coba. You even proved it earlier when you spared the sniper's life." He paused to let that sink in. "I think that's why she asked me to help you complete your training."

The girl eyed him curiously. "You were reluctant about it earlier. Are you still?"

"Can't you read my mind?"

She paused and listened closely, but a moment later she looked like a brick had just hit her head. "I'm sorry, I can't right now. Everyone downstairs is thinking in their yelling voices. It doesn't help that my emotions aren't in check, either."

"We'll work on that," Leo promised. "That is... if you let me train you."

"You're serious about this," Coba realized without having to read his mind.

"I am now," the terrapin confirmed.

Brooklyn hesitated. _I don't know about this. He's a good person—mutant—and has been more understanding than my family has been lately, but what if I get him killed? Then again, he's in a bit better shape than Kairi was to defend himself. I could learn a lot from him._ Yet her mind kept steering back to a particular question. _What if he dies like Kairi did?_ "C-can I think it over and give you an answer later?"

Leo nodded again with an understanding smile. "Of course. I think my brothers and I will be here until tomorrow evening."

Coba felt her shoulders sag with relief. "Thanks, Leo. Wait, just until tomorrow evening?"

"Yes. We eat quite a bit—especially Mikey _—_ plus we fight a lot." He frowned. "More so than before, I'm afraid. There'd be more broken vases."

"Beats being hunted, though," Coba pointed out. "Whomever's after you can't find you here; I've already sensed it. At least talk to my father about staying until we stop them."

"We?"

"Yes, _we_. Terry and I are involved in this now, and I for one will do whatever I can to help." _I owe it to you for your kindness, and to Kairi,_ she thought.

The ninja shook his head. "I can't put you or your family in danger on our behalf."

"No, but we can put ourselves in danger on your behalf."

Leo stared hard at her for a long moment, then sighed. "There's no stopping you, is there?"

"Nope."

He managed a chuckle as he ruffled her hair. "Stubborn, aren't you?"

Brooklyn blinked and nodded. "When I want to be."

"Alright, I'll talk to Bruce about it."

"Good. In that case," Coba looked at him seriously, "I accept you as my sensei." _The fact that he's willing to stick around to teach me is a good sign,_ she noted. _But am I really sure that this is good?_

Leonardo smiled gently, though he was also nervous. _Is teaching her the right thing to do? What if she gets hurt because of me, like my other students were?_

~!~

A large female silhouette stood in a warehouse, surrounded by computers and Purple Dragons. "Titian," she barked.

"Yes, boss?" said a slender young man, coming to a stop beside his employer. Actually, he was far from being a human in appearance: His body was a dark greenish-blue with several darker specks across his scaly skin; he had a thin medium length tail that pointed almost straight down towards the floor; his head was lizard-like with eyes that were such a dark green that they were almost black; and both his front and back were hardened like a shell, but visibly it was all just skin like the rest of his body—only by touching his back would one notice the difference. He wore a pair of black pants, which had a hole cut in them for his tail to stick out.

"Tell those lazy bums to gather all the information they can on Batman and Batgirl."

You're _the lazy one,_ Titian was tempted to say. _All you've been doing is order everyone around without doing a thing yourself._ Instead, he bobbed his head. "Yes, boss."

As he turned to walk away, a thought emerged. _Was leaving my family really worth all this? Yes,_ he tried to convince himself. _Their ways were too outdated. Too soft._

 _But is_ this _the right way? Caught under this maniac's thumb?_

* * *

 **Yep, I totally added a new character. Readers who have watched some more recent episodes of TMNT 2012 may be able to figure out who Titian's parents are. And yes, his name references a Renaissance painter named Tiziano Vecceli(o), though in English Tiziano's name is spelled Titian, hence the spelling of my new character's name.**

 **If you're wondering what Kairi's referencing when she tells Coba that her sensei and Bruce had the same conversation, it's from the Batman the Animated Series episode "Night of the Ninja."**

 **Please leave a review and have a good day!**


	6. Chapter 5: Hesitation

**Author's Notes:**

 **Guess who's back! :D**

 **Well, at least for now.**

 **I apologize for the long wait. I've been having computer issues and been distracted by life and drawing original species, as well as writer's block. Presently, I'm not sure of how soon any of my stories will be updated. This could be the last update for a while.**

* * *

True to his word, Leonardo had spoken with Bruce about Coba's concerns. The old warrior warmly allowed his old friends to stay as long as they needed to. His hospitality surprised the four brothers, as Bruce had been more closed in while Alfred Pennyworth saw to their needs during their last visit decades before. "He's gotten soft," Raphael had noted to Michelangelo and Donatello once Wayne, Grayson, and McGinnis were out of earshot. Coba naturally overheard him from another room, but she said nothing as Raph continued. "Result of old age, maybe?"

"I don't think so," Don said with a shake of his head. "He seems more at peace now than he did all those years ago, and PTSD doesn't always get better over time, especially when you lose so many friends over the years."

"Including a guy like Alfred," Mike added sadly.

" _It's because of Terry and Coba_ ," Ace spoke up. " _At least, after their first meeting was when I noticed his happiness and peace starting to grow._ "

Raph looked skeptical. "Kids caused his happiness and peacefulness? Doubtful."

The Dane mix eyed the mutant. " _You say that because you didn't see it happen_."

"I'm saying it because it didn't work for us."

A stony silence followed in the living room. _What does Raphael mean by that?_ Coba wondered as she trained in the gym with Leo. _Oh, wait; what does_ Sir _mean by that? Ugh! It just sounds goofy in my head._ She noticed Leo looking amused. "What's so funny?"

"I don't think you realize you were thinking all that to me," the dark blue-eyed ninja replied.

Coba's cheeks turned a bit red with embarrassment. "Heh, sorry, Sensei."

Leo chuckled at his new student. "It's alright." He sobered. "Try not to let that happen around Raph, okay? He's not really—"

"—tolerant of kids. I know."

"And try not to—"

"—finish his sentences. Got it." The girl's eyes widened as she realized she had completed her sensei's phrase, then she offered a meek smile. "Sorry."

The turtle could not stop himself from grinning. "Now I see why Bruce has mellowed out a bit."

Brooklyn shrugged. "Not sure that 'mellow' is the right word to describe him." _If that were the case, he may not have been able to save Terry and me whenever something happened._ "More like... more light-hearted," she suggested.

"I can see that." He looked at her squarely. "What were the last things Kairi taught you?"

After thinking for a moment, Coba listed the names of techniques Kairi had tutored her on. When the small warrior forgot a name, she managed to show the ninja the move she was trying to describe, and he would then identify the style. Leo mentally noted Coba's form, surprised that it was nearly precise, given her injuries and crippled right leg.

 _Not bad,_ Leo thought. _At least now I know where to start from._

"Good," Coba said quietly. She face palmed. "Dregs, I did it again."

"I don't mind," he said with a shrug. "Ready to start?"

"Hai."

"Are you sure that's a good idea right now?" Don asked, stepping into the room. "I mean, she's still recovering from her injuries."

"You want me to go easy on her?" Leo asked incredulously.

Don shrugged. "Grayson might want us to."

The blue-eyed girl gazed at the brown-eyed turtle sharply. "Our enemies won't go easy. They'll fight until either they're defeated, or we are, and they're bent on achieving the latter. My grandfather is well aware of this, as well."

 _And so is Bruce,_ Don mentally noted, unaware that Leo was thinking the same thing. _That sounds similar to what he might say._ "Okay, Bruce Jr, calm down," the brown-eyed turtle replied. He looked at his blue-eyed brother. "Never mind me. Continue."

Leo nodded. "Thanks, Don." His gaze shifted to that of his new apprentice. "Watch closely." Stepping a few paces away to keep from hitting her or Don, he snapped his leg forward in a kick, then spun himself around and kicked it out again, then thrust a fist forward. Leo looked at Coba. "Now you try."

Batgirl narrowed her eyes determinedly, then flawlessly mirrored her teacher's movements. Instead of ending with the punch, however, she added another spin-kick. She noticed Don and Leo's bewildered faces. "What? Kairi and I would do the same thing. She'd show me a combination, I'd add another move, then she'd add another move, and we'd keep going until one of us forgot what the other did." She gave a tiny chuckle of embarrassment. "I forgot the most often."

The two turtles exchanged amused looks, then they looked at Coba once more. "Kairi did the same with Venus," Leo told her.

"She tried to do it with us, but she stopped so we wouldn't get too discouraged," Don added. "Only Leo could keep up, though I don't remember him liking it much."

Coba blinked and frowned. "I take it we're not doing that?"

Leo returned the frown at his student's disappointment. "We can try, if you really want to," he offered.

"N-no, you're the sensei, not me. I'll learn to do without, if it's what you want." _I'll have to eventually,_ she thought sadly.

"I'll tell you what; how about we do it as a review at the end of each day?"

The girl perked up at this suggestion. "Sounds good."

The turtle grinned. "That's what will happen, then. Shall we continue?"

Brooklyn nodded. "Hai. Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering something. "When do you plan to teach me more about meditation? It should help keep my emotions in check, right?"

"After battle training," Leo replied with a small chuckle.

"Can't say I've met anyone so keen on meditation since Master Splinter," Don commented, amused.

"Me neither, Don." Without warning, Leo kicked out at Coba. The girl was frozen by surprise, but managed to dodge at the last possible moment. "Focus, Coba," Leo chided. "Be ready for any possible attack."

Coba narrowed her eyes determinedly as she blocked another kick. She ducked under when Leo punched at her, then swiped her leg at his feet, aiming to trip him. However, the experienced turtle's stance was too sturdy for her to break. He moved to pin her down, but she rolled to the side, ignoring the pain in her ribs at the action.

"Impressive reflexes," Leo commented, straightening.

"Yeah, yeah, impressive," Terry said as he walked in, rolling his eyes. He looked at Leo, Coba and Don. "Raphael, Michelangelo and I are going to Kairi's dojo to pay our respects. Want to come with?"

Don looked at the young Dark Knight skeptically. "Are you sure that's wise? The Purple Dragons are likely still looking for us."

Mike, who had come into the room with Terry and Raph, frowned. "Oh, yeah. That's a problem."

"Not for me, it ain't," Raph growled, hitting his right fist into his left palm. "I'd like to give those scumbags a piece of my mind."

"So would I, but we can't risk being seen with Terry and Coba," Leo stated. "It would compromise their safety as well."

"Then how are we going to pay respects to Kairi?" Raph challenged.

"I have some holographic projectors," Coba volunteered. "They can make you appear and sound different." She pulled out a device and clipped it to her shirt. "For example—" she clicked a button, causing her appearance to seemingly morph— "an older human of the opposite sex."

Terry and the Turtles were visibly surprised by the change. "That is freakishly close to being Bruce," Mike noted with a shudder, getting nods and murmurs of agreement from the others.

 _Grandfather and Grandmother said something similar, but reacted differently than this,_ Coba mused, recalling how Dick and Selina had laughed, though it was not out of disrespect. "Though I recommend that you each chose different age groups," she told them, taking her device off. "It would raise suspicion if you were all your current age."

"Good idea," Don praised.

Coba and Terry passed out more of the devices to the brothers. Mike caught Raph's when the red-masked ninja dropped it. "Here you go," Mike said.

Raph took it in a bad-tempered manner, switching it on mid-sentence. "I could've gotten it mysel—what the shell?!"

The room erupted in laughter as Raph realized what happened: The device had given him the holographic appearance—as well as the voice—of a beautiful young red-haired woman! "I always thought you seemed feminine," Mike teased.

Coba managed to gain control of her voice. "I gotta compliment the dress, sir; it brings out your green eyes beautifully!"

Terry and the three remaining turtles laughed harder. The girl looked at them quizzically. "What? It does!"

"There a way to fix it, baby genius?" Raph grunted.

Brooklyn nodded, ignoring the bad-tempered terrapin's insult, then hit a button, switching the appearance from young woman to young man wearing a red shirt and black pants. "Better?"

"So far. There a way I can lose the Bieber voice?"

The girl promptly changed it. "How about that?"

"Let me check." His voice was much more masculine like his original voice. "Yeah, much better."

"Good."

"I would've said it sounded good for him, but it really didn't," Mike piped up.

Coba shrugged. "Either way it sounds like someone who seems to hate me, so I'm indifferent."

Raph gave her an unreadable expression, but said nothing.

"Though, perhaps one of us should be female," Don suggested.

They all looked at Mike, who sighed. "Aw, man! Why do I _always_ have to be the girl?"

"Maybe that scream I heard over the radio when someone shot their rifle at you is why," Terry offered with a smirk, causing the orange-masked turtle's brothers to stifle snickers.

Brooklyn shrugged apologetically. "Sorry to agree, Michelangelo-san, but he does have a point."

"Fiiiiiine, let's get this over with..."

~!~

 _"Fiiiiiine," Terry groaned, pulling his uniform's top over his head, "let's get this over with."_

 _Coba rolled her eyes, stifling a chuckle. "Gee, no need to sound so enthusiastic," she said sarcastically. She and her half-brother entered the dojo, then started practicing their fighting forms. Though her crippled foot made it more challenging for herself, Coba managed to maintain her poses with near-perfection._

 _"Where's Zander?" she heard Terry ask Kairi half an hour into their training._

 _The teacher put a staff back on a rack. "He won't be coming to class anymore."_

 _Terry stepped back in surprise. "Why?"_

 _"His guardians felt that my supervision was somewhat negligent," Kairi replied in a matter-of-fact manner._

 _McGinnis stared at Kari for moment, then looked down guiltily, remembering how he had talked Zander into leaving the dojo. "I'm sorry."_

 _Kairi smiled grimly at him. "Don't sweat it, kid. There wasn't much more I could do for him, anyway. His path was already chosen for him."_

 _Brooklyn mulled over what she had just heard as she continued to practice._ Zander's gone. At least he won't be keen on hurting me now.

But... why can't I be happy about this?

~!~

"Hellooooooooo? Earth to Coba!"

Coba blinked in confusion as she looked at Mike. "Huh, what?"

"Great, another dreamer," Raph grumbled.

"Grayson just got the car ready," Terry told her, ignoring the turtle's remark. "Ready to go?"

She nodded wordlessly, then followed them all out the door.

~!~

 _"_ Maybe it's for the best, you know? _" Max suggested that evening, sitting in her home as Batman and Batgirl patrolled the city; Batman in the Batmobile, Batgirl on the Batcycle. "I got a weird vibe from that guy."_

 _"So did I," Coba agreed._

 _Terry sighed. "Yeah, but I sill feel bad about it."_

 _"_ Don't let it keep you up nights. _"_

 _"_ Max, get off the line, _" Bruce said gruffly. "_ Some of us have work to do. _"_

 _Terry and Coba flinched as Bruce hung up on Max, causing a sharp clicking sound. "Ouch," Batman commented._

 _"Well excuse her for living," Batgirl stated tartly._

 _"_ Don't take that tone with me, kid, _" Wayne reprimanded._

 _"Why not? You just disrespected one of my best friends, and caused me to nearly drive into the river in surprise at the loud click!"_

 _"_ Mm. I keep forgetting your hearing and compassion are stronger than ours. Sorry. _" Silence. "_ Coba? _"_

 _"Sis? You okay?" Terry asked in concern. "Why did you just turn around?"_

 _"Something's wrong," came the girl's tense reply. "At Max's."_

 _Before she had the chance to elaborate, the link clicked once more. "_ Terry, _" Max's voice answered, panicked._

 _"What's wrong?" Bruce and Terry asked in unison._

 _"_ It's Zander. He's trying to take—get away from me! _" she suddenly shrieked._

 _Glass shattered as Batgirl flew the Batcycle through the apartment window. Jumping of the vehicle, the small vigilante slammed a blazing fist into the surprised Zander's face, knocking him down._ I guess I just needed a newly-flight-able motorcycle and StarBolts to knock him down. Who knew?

 _"Co—Batgirl, he's not moving!" Max urgently informed after a moment._

 _Dread filled Coba's heart anew._ Oh, dregs. Did I kill him?

~!~

"I wish I had," Coba murmured softly.

Raph eyed her from the seat behind her and Leonardo. "Wish you had what, pipsqueak?"

"Nothing."

~!~

 _Batgirl cautiously knelt down, ready for an attack in case Zander was faking. She placed the tips of her fore- and middle-fingers against his neck. "He's alive, just unconscious. Call the cops."_

 _"Back off, runt," an eerily familiar voice growled._

 _The small crime fighter looked up to see the brutish Kobra from the thermal bomb heist._ What's a Kobra doing here? _she briefly wondered before realization dawned on her._ Terry said Zander was being groomed to be a leader. That must mean he's... _Kobra's_ leader?!

 _Coba stood her ground as the thug charged, swinging his electric nunchaku. "Get down!" she ordered Max._

 _Gibson immediately threw herself behind the bed. The thug swung his weapon at Batgirl, but her swift dodging made him miss, yet he managed to get her to move backwards towards the window. He hurled himself at her, but Coba was pushed out of the way just in time, sending the villain careening towards the ground many stories below. A scream filled Coba's ears as she realized what happened. "Batman!"_ Terry pushed me out of the way. But now he's falling!

 _Before she could go after them, she heard footsteps approaching from the staircase._ It's too soon to be cops. Could be someone coming to get Zander. I'd better get Max out first, then save Terry. _She pulled Max to her feet and held her tight about her waist. "Hang on," she instructed._

 _Max grimly obeyed, then screamed as her friend flew out the window. The Batmobile hovered nearby._ Almost there...

 _A shot from a blaster rang through the air. Batgirl's suit's right wing gave out, a gaping hole in the middle of it, sending the girls spinning through the air momentarily before Batgirl threw Max into the Batmobile. The vehicle's roof closed, protecting Max from more gunfire. Another bullet tore through Coba's left wing, causing her to lose all control of her flight. She caught hold of a nearby building's roof, but her head collided with the side of it, causing her to lose her hold and fall as blackness engulfed her vision..._

~!~

Brooklyn subconsciously shivered. If Silverstar had not miraculously arrived and caught her just seconds after she lost consciousness, she would not be alive now. _Whatever good me being alive does right now,_ she thought ruefully. _I couldn't save Terry then, and I couldn't save Kairi. What's the point of me living if I can't get anything right?_

Leo pat her shoulder upon seeing her shiver. "Are you okay?" he asked concernedly. "You've seemed a bit... distant for a few hours."

"Fine, Sensei," she pathetically lied.

He gave her a stern look. "Don't lie to me."

She wilted a bit under his gaze. "I'm sorry. I just... don't know how to explain it."

The ninja's expression softened in understanding, yet he said nothing more.

"Where are the others?"

Leo gestured to a nearby building, and Coba recognized the outside of Kairi's dojo. "They're already inside, waiting for us."

Coba swallowed back her nervousness, only for it to return full force. _What if I'm not worthy to enter after what happened? She probably doesn't forgive me for failing her._ "Y-you go ahead, Sensei. I... I can't go in."

"What makes you think that?"

"I couldn't—"

"—save her?" Leo suppressed a sigh. "She doesn't hate you for it, Coba, nor do I think she hates you at all. I doubt she would've asked me to teach you if she didn't like you. You have nothing to be afraid of."

The girl looked up at him in surprise, but said nothing. He opened the car door, hopped out, then beckoned for her to follow. She hesitantly obeyed. _I'm nervous too, kid,_ he thought to her.

 _I know, Sensei. But... that's why I'm more scared than usual._

 _I'm sorry._

 _Don't be. We both know that this must be done. May as well get it over with now._

 _My thoughts exactly._

 _Not really, since you worded it differently,_ Coba smirked.

Leo lightly shook with suppressed laughter, feeling his tension fade a little. _Of course you'd catch on to that._

* * *

 **Yeah, still not a Justin Bieber fan... I mean no disrespect to people who like him, though.**


	7. Chapter 6: Shame

**Author's Notes:**

 **Oof, sorry it's been over a year! I've mostly been drawing stuff and posting it to my DeviantArt account, and writer's block has been brutal. Plus some stuff came up, like my parents each having surgery and my dog needing to go to the vet, and now I've got issues with my medication and have to get off. *sighs* You know, fun stuff.**

 **Anyway, some spark to resume this story came when I heard that there was going to be a Batman/TMNT crossover movie called _Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles._ It just came out this month, and I finished watching it about an hour ago. I gotta say. It. Kicked. SHELL! It was partially based on the 2005-2006 six-comic special by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II. I'm a little disappointed that it didn't follow exactly with those comics, but I enjoyed the parts that did, plus a lot of the parts that didn't were still enjoyable. Instead of them being from different dimensions like the comics, they were in the same world, yet still from different cities.**

 **Another thing that got my interest piqued again was a weird dream that I don't recall, but I remember lying in bed after waking up, and multiple scenarios were rolling through my mind until there was one left standing, and I wrote down the rough storyline later that day in a notebook. Fingers crossed, it shouldn't take over a year to update this story again. This chapter should answer a couple of questions, and it leads up to action that will take place in the next part.**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 6!**

* * *

Four lotus flowers floated serenely along the pond's surface in Kairi's dojo. Terry, Mike, Don and Raph stood in solemn silence, honoring their fallen comrade, as Leo and Coba finally came in. Raph glanced at the duo as though to say "'Bout time you showed up," but he held his tongue. Leo picked up a lotus from the bag of flowers, then walked over to the pond and placed it on the water. He noticed Coba following suit at a slower pace, clearly trying to summon the courage to do so. _It is okay, Coba,_ he thought to her. _You've got this._

Brooklyn relaxed a touch at her new sensei's encouragement. She placed her flower in the pond, then stepped back. _I'm sorry, Kairi,_ she thought for the umpteenth time.

A single tear slid down her cheek before landing in the pond, sending ripples through the still surface. Leo placed a hand on her shoulder, quietly watching the water with her as his own eyes glistened like his brothers' did.

After standing in silence for several minutes, Mike was the first to speak. "Anyone else hungry?" His question was met by several glares. "Oh, come on! I can't seriously be the only one!"

"Actually, I'm craving pizza myself," Terry admitted, a bit embarrassed to be agreeing with the goofball.

"Yeah... wait, you like pizza too?!" Mike asked excitedly.

"Who doesn't, bone-head?" Raph grunted, smacking his brother upside the head.

"You'd be surprised," Terry informed him.

Mike rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah! No need to hit me, dude."

"There's always a need, bro," the one-eyed turtle smirked. "But... pizza does sound good."

"It does," Don admitted a bit grudgingly. He looked at Leo and Coba. "What about you two? You want to go for pizza?"

Coba hesitated. "I... I'm not hungry."

"You sure, sis?" Terry asked. "You haven't eaten in a few hours."

"I'm sure," she snapped. "Can you get off my case?"

"No, I can't," McGinnis replied with a glare. "I can't let you push me away!"

"Even if it means you'll survive?"

Terry looked at her in shock. "You do realize I made that same mistake when Inque attacked the cave, right? By pushing you away so you wouldn't get hurt or killed?"

"Except you blackmailed me into not going out as Batgirl," Coba pointed out. "You practically threatened to abandon me!"

"What?! You're blowing things way out of proportion, Coba!" Terry growled.

"Not really, because that's _exactly_ what happened."

"That's enough," Leo said firmly, getting between the half-siblings. "Coba, it'll be better if you ate something. It's not good to go without fuel for too long."

"Oh, _now_ he gets it," Mike mumbled.

"I brought snacks in case," Coba said. "And I'm really not hungry right now, so it would be a waste of a pizza slice."

"And that's literally as much as she can eat," Terry added. "Rarely does it increase to two."

Raph snorted. "No wonder she's so scrawny."

Coba glared and started towards him. "What did you just say?!"

Leo grabbed his student by her shoulder, holding her in place. "Coba, stop!" he commanded. He sighed, then looked at his brothers and Terry. "You guys can go ahead. We'll catch up."

" _Again?_ " Mike groaned.

Don elbowed him. "Yes, _again_."

McGinnis narrowed his eyes at his sister one last time, then left with the three turtles. _Fine. I can see where I'm not wanted,_ he thought tartly.

Brooklyn frowned, feeling bad for how she had spoken to her brother, and started to follow. "Terry," she started, but he held up his hand and waved her off.

The blue-masked mutant caught her again. "Let them go," he advised. "You both need time to wind down. Kairi wouldn't want to see you fight with your brother more."

She looked down in shame, but nodded after a moment. "Hai, Sensei."

Leo frowned at Coba's expression, remembering when he too had felt that way. _When Master Splinter sent me to Japan to train under The Ancient One._ He remembered something Coba had suggested earlier. "Since we're here, why don't we work on your meditation? That should help you cool off a bit."

"Okay," Coba said with a nod, perking up a bit. "Good idea, Sensei."

He smiled. "Alright. Is there a specific area here that's good for meditation?"

"Yeah, this way." She turned and showed him the way, then, once in the room, they sat down and began the session.

~!~

Raph grunted as he looked at the entrance from where he, his brothers and Terry sat at Cheesy Dan's. "I hate when he takes so long!" he growled.

"Oh, relax. He and Coba are probably just grieving some more," Terry said.

"Don't tell me ta relax!" Raph snarled. "Grievin' or not, he should know better."

"Patience, Raphael," Don advised his brother. "If they don't arrive in five minutes, I'll call them, okay?"

Terry blinked. "It's only been twenty minutes, guys. Sure you aren't overreacting?"

Mike held Raph back as the angry turtle started at the teen. "Dude, hold on! He doesn't know."

"I don't know what?" Terry asked.

"Why we worry," Don said. "When we were about Coba's age, Leo had gone on patrol. It was early morning when he left, but hours went by, and there was no sign of him. We were about to search for him when... when he crashed through the window of our friend's apartment, bloodied and bruised. The Foot Clan, a group of ninjas, had been after him that whole day, and he spent the entire time fighting them and running to get back to us. His injuries were so bad that we didn't think he would make it." He looked down sadly. "He was in a coma for days."

McGinnis' eyes widened. "Jeez!" He frowned. "I'm sorry you went through that. Wait a second," he realized, "aren't you guys mad at him for something? If so, then why are you so worried?"

"Raph and Don are more peeved with him than I am," Mike clarified. "But, we're brothers; we've known each other all our lives. No matter how mad we make each other, we still worry. Oh! Right, sorry. Raph doesn't worry," he added with a cheeky smirk, noticing Raph's irritated look.

Raph sighed and rolled his eye, turning away. "Yeah, whatever." He tilted his head in confusion. "What the shell?"

"Huh?" Terry looked in the same direction Raph was gazing in. "Oh, them. Those must be new Jokerz. Can't say I've seen a lizard splicer with them before, though... that's new."

"Hold on a moment..." The one-eyed terrapin studied them a bit closer, and frowned. "Ah, shell," he breathed.

"What's wrong?" Terry inquired, noticing his other two allies staring the same thing with the same expressions. "Never seen Jokerz before?"

"Those aren't Jokerz," Don murmured. "They're Purple Dragons."

"And that ain't a splicer," Raph growled. "That's my son; Titian."

~!~

 _Batgirl rushed through the corridors of a flaming vessel. Terrified screams echoed in her ears as people and strange splicers scrambled for escape pods, but she and a masked figure followed Batman to an escape pod, then knocked out a villainous scientist who was standing in the vehicle. How she knew he was villainous without really getting a good look at him was beyond her, but she and Batman got into the pod. Realizing their ally wasn't following, she turned and saw them looking down a flaming hallway as a hulking figure approached. "Kairi!" Batman called. "Come on!"_

 _Kairi shook her head and said something, but Batgirl's shock upon hearing her teacher's name prevented her from catching all of the words. "Beware the enemy inside," Natalie's ominous voice spoke to her. The small vigilante sprinted out of the pod just as Batman was closed inside, and tried to get to her teacher to help against the foe, but a loud_ boom _and bright flames engulfed her senses..._

 _Harsh ringing was all Batgirl could hear as she drifted out of consciousness. Her vision was blurred so all she could see was the white light being shined in her eyes, her head throbbing as she tried to move. A hand gently pressed her chest from her right, holding her down, as a familiar voice finally got through the internal noise. "Easy, Coba. You're safe now. You're at my dojo."_

 _"Kairi...?" Relief flooded over Coba._ Oh, thank God. It was only a dream... or was it? _"How did I... get here?" her voice feebly inquired._

 _"Your friend Silverstar brought you. He said you told him to bring you here."_

 _Coba blinked slowly, her vision finally starting to clear a bit. She was about to say she had never told him that, but she paused. The request seemed too familiar to not have been made. " ... Yeah, I guess I did. Where is he?"_

 _"I'm right here," Silverstar replied, gently clasping her left hand. "I couldn't leave you like this."_

 _"What about Max?" she asked. "Is she okay?"_

 _"I think so. She was in your Batmobile last I checked."_

 _Batgirl sighed in relief. "Good."_

 _"Why be brought here instead of the cave?" Kairi inquired._

 _"I don't remember... it's a bit fuzzy."_

 _Kairi snorted. "I'd imagine so, considering you have a concussion."_

 _"Maybe it had to do with what happened at Max's place?" Mark suggested._

 _"Maybe... wait!" Coba sat up abruptly, and instantly regretted it as she spewed into a pan Kairi had sitting on the floor._

 _"What have I told you about taking it easy?" Tanaga chided. "Now you've ruined my good cooking pan."_

 _"Then why was it there?" Coba countered weakly._

 _" ... Point taken. What did you remember?"_

 _"Kobra tried to kidnap Max."_

 _"What does that have to do with me or the dojo?"_

 _"Zander was with them. He orchestrated the whole thing." Coba frowned as her teacher looked down. "You're disappointed... but not surprised."_

 _Kairi sighed. "I knew I was taking a chance when I allowed him in here. I knew he was in a cult, being groomed to become their leader, but I didn't know it was Kobra. I just wanted to be sure he wouldn't abuse the power."_

 _"So you taught him Bushido?" Silverstar speculated, raising an eyebrow._

 _The woman was surprised at first that the hero knew what she taught, but dismissed it when she remembered who his friends were. "He needed a code, a philosophy. A sense of right and wrong. It worked for the Samurai warriors."_

 _"But not for Zander," Coba said sadly._

Or for one of my first students, _Kairi thought sorrowfully. Before Batgirl could ask about it, Kairi handed her a card from her apron pocket. "All I have for him is this phone number."_

 _"Thanks." The girl accepted the card, and couldn't help but pat Kairi on the shoulder. "I'm sorry it didn't work out with Zander."_

 _"Don't be. It's not your fault." Kairi frowned. "It's mine."_

 _"It's neither of your faults," Mark informed them. "It's Zander's and Kobra's. They were the ones who used your training of Zander for bad, not you."_

 _Coba nodded, though both she and Kairi could not help but feel responsible. Natalie's warning echoed through the girl's mind once more._

 _"Beware the enemy inside."_

A noise from within the dojo jolted Coba and Leo from their meditative state. "What was that?" Leo whispered.

"Someone's here," Coba replied quietly, listening intently. "They're heading to the pond... and they don't seem friendly."

Leo frowned. "Stay behind me."

Brooklyn gave him an indignant look, but nodded and complied without a word. She followed the turtle to the pond, and noticed a stranger standing on the bridge. Leo paused, managing to stop himself from gasping in surprise. _We need to leave. Now._

 _Why?_ Coba inquired mentally, too shocked by his reaction to read his mind. _What's wrong? Who is that?_

 _It's the leader of the Purple Dragons,_ he answered.

 _It's Venus._


End file.
